This past week, I asked the following question about the Miami Dolphins’ most recent NFL Draft class:
Which of the Miami Dolphins’ 2026 draft picks that most fans are either downplaying or just outright dismissing do you believe will surprise us all and turn into either a good/solid NFL player or even possibly a star, and why?
Below are some of your thoughts and answers-
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Dave21 has high hopes for the entire class, especially Louis.
I hope they all play well, I hope they create the perfect place for Louis to play a Monster Back . Hope we run a lot of 4-2-5 and our DL spent a lot of time in the off season working out and training. This way our BIG Boys can’t get moving forward and keep out LB’s clean to make plays.
MIAMI235 hopes the round 2 pick turns into a long-term answer.
Hoping Rodriquez, becomes the long term LB with grit !
CluelessNFLfan ignored the actual draft picks and pointed to the QB from Iowa.
Mark Gronowski. Because he’ll either make the roster or the practice squad
davidson11 seems to already be looking to 2027.
Dolphins schedule in 2027 is pretty tough. Let’s hope all the rookies play well and still get the #1 pick.
Bull Pupp thinks the first round corner will be the guy!
Chris Johnson for 2 reasons 1) He is an excellent player 2) There is no competition for him at corner on the current roster.
SuperG! thinks the third round TE might have something.
I’m bullish on Kacmarek as well.
sirdolphin thinks the controversial third-round WR might surprise some.
Good old Caleb Douglas. I don’t know how he’ll get on, but I can’t help noticing from watching his highlights that he gets wide open when coming back to the QB, so he must have some moves as well as being tall and fast.
Dolfanjoe sounds excited to see what Brooks and Rodriguez will do together in the middle of the D.
90 players competing. New Coach and GM, they care less who was here and on the team. All will have to compete or find themselves on the cutdown line towards the end of Summer. Sully did what he said and there will be competition at about every position. So very much like what they did at Middle Linebacker. Brooks is a find ! Adding Rodriguez to this position could very well give us a strength like we have not had in a lot of years. Rodriguez and Brooks could finally end that soft against the run label we have had for years and needed to change ! Defensive backfield will sort itself out. But Rodriguez is a football player !
Bull Pupp also wanted to highlight the 4th round LB.
Trey Moore (6’2″/247) a 4th round selection is one to watch as an edge on pass rushing situations.
Ran a 4.54–40 at the Combine in addition, a 38.5″ (4th), vertical jump, a 1.6–10 yard split (tied for 2nd)
Key Strength and Physicality Notes:
Weight Room Power: Moore, weighing around 245-249 pounds, has demonstrated elite, lineman-level strength in the weight room.
Performance: Reports indicated he was lifting in the 400-pound range during summer sessions at Texas, leaving teammates “stunned”.
Athleticism: Beyond raw strength, Moore ran a 4.54 40-yard dash and showed elite, 6 7 8 12 88th-percentile athleticism, making him a high-impact edge rusher.
Draft Status: Following his impressive collegiate production, including 30 career sacks, he was selected by the Miami Dolphins in the 2026 NFL Draft 7 3.
Left Shark believes the head coach will surprise everyone.
FlyerFinFan hopes the Green Bay magic of finding good-to-great later-round wide receivers will apply here.
Have to go with Douglas been a lot of chatter on him. He has all the measurables to succeed and GB knows how to find those WRs so odds are in his favor. Go get’em!
Phoenix6 is another that highlighted an UDFA with the LB/Edge from Wisconsin.
Mason Reiger, LB, Wisconsin.
He’s going to make t eams regret not drafting him.
He’s going to be a steal for a team in the NFL, as he was hiding on a bad W isconsin team.
His Shrine Bowl performance showed what he can do when he is given the opportunity.
He’s going to be one of the s teals of the UDFA grp.
Miami’s OLB unit isn’t strong. Willie Gay could get m ore playing time, but the unit’s depth is the problem.
Reiger has a shot at the 53 b ecause of that depth.
It won’t be handed to him, he has a ways to go before he’s made a starter, but if he does make the r oster, he’ll impress out of the gate. Hell, on special teams alone.
JUK is high on the blocking tight end.
I’d pick Kacmarek. People are sleeping on how important nfl teams find the role, and I think he is ready to contribute from day 1. If they can develop a little bit of receiving profile he could be really good.
It’s interesting that tight end is probably the hardest position to scout out of college. Only two of the top 10 highest paid TEs in football were 1st rounders (Hockenson and Pitts in 4th and 5th) and only two more were second rounders (McBride in 2nd and Kmet in 10th.
Compare that with tackle where 9 out of 10 were first rounders. Safeties are 2 out of 10 as well. Makes the case for the proctor pick a little stronger doesn’t it?
Jptapt just hopes that Duke will have a change of heart.
Biggest surprise? Earl. He will show up in love with this draft.
sdphinsfan thinks the 6th round guard could be the big surprise.
A surprise candidate? Reiger could definitely be that guy. But I’m going to go with DJ Campbell. He gave up 4 sacks in 2 years playing against the best competition in college football. And he’s a developmental guy for us…at G…That astonishes me. In the last 5 years, we’ve had multiple guys give up that many sacks in 2 weeks. If we can get the rest of his game in order, Proctor moves back to T in 2027 and Jackson moves out or moves on.
Well, the answers were all over the place, including guys that were not even drafted, but I, for one, hope that every single one of you is somehow correct. This roster needs all the help we can possibly find, and the cheaper the better! As with all of these posts, I would like to thank each of you who took the time to join in on our Phinsider Question Of The Day post.
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