New Mock Draft Has Dolphins Focused on Positional Value Over Need

The Miami Dolphins were given a surprising piece in a recent mock draft. With a closer look, is it really that surprising?

Feb 24, 2026; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Miami Dolphins general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan speaks at the NFL Scouting Combine at the Indiana Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The Miami Dolphins are entering their first season of a rebuild under Jeff Hafley and Jon-Eric Sullivan as they attempt to scrape out from the end of the Mike McDaniel era.

While the NFL draft in 2027 is 10 months away, the draft is truly a year-round business, and can give a glimpse into what the teams could be thinking when draft season rolls around.

In PFSN’s most recent mock draft, they have the Dolphins falling second in the draft order, and going against conventional wisdom. Instead of taking a wide receiver like Ohio State’s Jeremiah Smith to help Malik Willis, or a quarterback to replace him, PFSN has the Dolphins going with edge rusher Dylan Stewart from South Carolina.

The Dolphins are committed to Willis after giving him a contract in the offseason that gave him a chance to prove he can be their franchise quarterback. While it's possible a bad season could force the Dolphins' hand in replacing him, that feels unlikely. Making it work with Willis is something that would set the Dolphins up to build the rest of the team around him.

Coming into the 2026 draft class, conventional wisdom was that the Dolphins would take a wide receiver with one of their two first-round picks after trading Jaylen Waddle to the Denver Broncos.

Instead, the Dolphins went with offensive lineman Kadyn Proctor and cornerback Chris Johnson with their two picks as they try to add building blocks at key positions to rebuild their team.

They would add to their receiving corps in the middle rounds with the selections of Caleb Douglas, Chris Bell and Kevin Coleman Jr. between rounds 3 and 5.

Was that approach perhaps a glimpse into the future for how the Dolphins are going to build their football team?

The Green Bay Way

This cannot be stressed enough that the Dolphins are under a new regime, and the Green Bay Packers have famously approached their receiving corps differently than most teams around the NFL.

Prior to 2025 when the Packers selected wide receiver Matthew Golden in the first round, the Packers had not taken a receiver in the first round since Javon Walker in 2002.

Despite that fact, the Packers rarely were caught without enough weapons for Brett Favre, Aaron Rodgers and Jordan Love in the 23 years that passed between the selections of Walker and Golden.

Greg Jennings, Jordy Nelson, Randall Cobb, James Jones and Davante Adams are all receivers who were selected after the first round who turned into key contributors for the Packers.

Other players who have been quality contributors in recent years include Christian Watson, Jayden Reed and Romeo Doubs.

The Dolphins took a similar approach in the first year under Sullivan, who was one of Packers GM Brian Gutekunst’s top lieutenants in Green Bay. That could be a sign of things to come.

Positional Value Philosophy

While receiver may be the position that gets the most headlines during the offseason and the draft with the explosion of fantasy football across the NFL’s fan base, the line of scrimmage is more often where games are won.

The Dolphins’ selection of Proctor is one example of Sullivan ascribing to this theory.

If this simulation were to play out in real life, the Dolphins would be eschewing the fantasy football players in the first round to further fortify their defense on the line of scrimmage.

In the 23 years between the Packers selecting Javon Walker and Matthew Golden, they took nine line of scrimmage defenders. That includes four edge defenders, most notably when they traded up for Clay Matthews in the back end of the first round in 2009.

The Packers historically have valued players who can rush the passer more than they have players who can catch the football from their quarterback.

Why? Because there are so few pass rushers that are able to affect games in the way there are several receivers across the NFL.

With the explosion of all the passing camps and 7-on-7 teams to go with pass happy offenses in colleges, receivers are more prepared than ever to contribute early and often in the NFL.

Furthermore, arguably the greatest receiving corps ever assembled graced the cover of Sports Illustrated in 2011. The Packers boasted a group that included Greg Jennings, Jordy Nelson, Donald Driver, James Jones, Randall Cobb, and tight end Jermichael Finley.

That group helped Aaron Rodgers throw the ball all over the field en route to the first of his four MVP awards.

They also did not win so much as one playoff game that year, running into the vicious pass rush by the New York Giants.

The great equalizer for any great quarterback and group of receivers is ensuring that the quarterback is uncomfortable.

Perhaps there is no better example of that than former Dolphins nemesis Tom Brady in 2007 when the New York Giants harassed a previously perfect Brady into a 17-14 Super Bowl defeat.

Eli Manning won MVP honors that day, but it was a defensive line led by Michael Strahan, Justin Tuck and Osi Umenyiora that carried the day as the Giants shut down one of the best offenses in NFL history.

Stewart would represent a building block at a more important position.

Receiver is also a position reliant on players around them. Justin Jefferson and Ja'Marr Chase are two of the best players in the NFL at their position. Jefferson and Chase were both sitting at home watching the playoffs last year due to shoddy quarterback play.

Sullivan likely knows that, which is why if the Dolphins are in position to take one of the top players in this draft class, they’ll likely look for a pass rusher over a receiver.