Dolphins Should Focus on Trenches Early in the Draft

Dolphins Should Focus on Trenches Early in the Draft

Last year, Miami spent half of its draft capital on building up the offensive and defensive line.

In round 1, they took defensive tackle Kenneth Grant.

The next round, they traded up for guard Jonah Savaiinea.

On day 3, they took two more defensive tackles in Jordan Phillips and Zeek Biggers.

While the season was rough at times for all four players, by the end of the year, they had all shown progress, and there is real hope that they will be quality starters by at least the end of 2026.

And in Phillips and Grant’s case, they could be the anchors of their unit for years to come.

Even though the Dolphins attacked both units in 2025, there is still more to do heading into Thursday’s draft.

Miami could and should draft an offensive lineman either with pick 11, 30, or 43 with the intent of having that player start either at right guard or right tackle in 2026.

There are a few options, with either Francis Mauigoa or Spencer Fano as guards who could be kicked out to tackle in year two.

Kadyn Proctor could also be an option if Miami wants to shift Savaiinea to the right guard spot, where he played in college.

At pick 30, the Dolphins could take Blake Miller or Max Iheanachor as a long-term fix at right tackle because Austin Jackson is in the final year of his contract.

Should Miami wait until round 2, Chase Bisontis would be an intriguing option on the interior as a plug-and-play guard.

Defensively, Miami could round out the defensive tackle group with a run-stuffing nose tackle type in Kayden McDonald or Christen Miller, two players that the Dolphins brought in for 30 visits.

Even later on day 2, Darrell Jackson could serve a similar role, while someone like Gracen Halton could fill a different role on the interior as an undersized pass rusher on third downs.

While the defensive interior is almost complete, Miami’s edge group is a different story, as it features Chop Robinson, who has been inconsistent heading into his third year, along with a bunch of veterans who are on one-year contracts.

Rueben Bain Jr. would be an option early in the first round at pick 11, while T.J. Parker, Malachi Lawrence, Ahkeem Mesidor, and Zion Young would fit a similar role later at pick 30 or even early in the second round if the Dolphins trade back.

Gabe Jacas and Joshua Josephs are options on day 2 if Miami decides to wait.

However, if they decide to do it, Miami has to come out of the first two rounds of the draft by rounding out the offensive line and defensive line to give the team an edge up front and change the identity of the team.