Dolphins Saturday Mailbag: Examining What an Achane Extension Could Look Like

Part 1 of a mid-April weekend Miami Dolphins On SI mailbag:

From Lu_FromDade:

What is the likelihood of a Miami Dolphins trade on draft night?

Hey Lu, if the question relates to the first draft night (April 23), I would put that at 50-50 with the understanding it takes a second team for any trade to be consummated. What I would expect are, say, at least two trades throughout draft weekend (April 23-25) and I’d expect the Dolphins to pick up some additional 2027 draft capital in the process — because this isn’t a one-year rebuild.

From Sean Beachem:

How would you rank these prospects if they were available at 11: Bain, Delane, Downs, Mauigoa, and McCoy?

Hey Sean, if we’re talking best prospect for the Dolphins, my ranking would be Delane, Downs, Mauigoa, Bain and McCoy. I wouldn’t advocate either Bain or McCoy for Miami because of Bain’s short arms or McCoy’s injury concerns because I don’t want risk for the 11th pick. As for the other three, I’d be good with any of them, but cornerback trumps a safety or guard for positional value from my perspective and there’s a school of thought that Mauigoa’s best spot in the NFL will be guard (so mini-risk there).

From Jorge boyd:

Hi Alain, what is the strongest draft position in the first round of this year’s draft and what is the weakest?

Hey Jorge, there are a lot of wide receivers with first-round grades, which is why I wouldn’t be surprises to see Miami take one at number 30 (but sure hope not at 11). That’s probably the best position for Round 1 and the weakest might be running back or quarterback where each has only one slam-dunk first-round pick (Mendoza at quarterback and Love at running back).

From Dave Campbell:

Greetings Alain! I know it's way early in the process but I was impressed with Coach Hafley's no-nonsense attitude about what will expected from his team from the word go. On time. Intense on what you're doing. Physicality. If it was allowed, I think he would follow the Don Shula route. Two-a-days during training camp. Minimal water breaks. Trade a Tim McKyer ASAP. Trade a Sammie Smith after FIRST fumble in the end zone. And definitely no Tyreek Hill drama. Thoughts? I have followed All Dolphins Podcast since episode 1 but was unaware that Dolphins Collective had been a year so BAD DAVE! Always enjoy both Podcasts and all the written content on Miami Dolphins on SI.Com.

Thanks Dave as always, appreciate your support, loyalty and kind words. Those were some great references you brought up, even though I’m not sure Hafley would be as extreme as Shula. And I also wouldn’t advocate trading somebody after just one fumble — unless he went against a technique he had been taught or this was a recurring problem in practice. But, without question, Hafley does seem like he’ll have a tougher approach than his predecessor.

From Crash Jensen:

Thanks, Alain, for all the in-depth, no-nonsense, and FREE Dolphins coverage! Kind of a meta question about you & the team: Now that Jeff Hafley has had a couple press conferences, what are the biggest differences between his and McDaniel’s styles?

Hey Crash, if you’ve watched any of them, they should be pretty obvious. Hafley is a lot quicker to make his points and doesn’t elaborate nearly as much. He also will not joke once the questions start, which is something McDaniel did on a frequent basis. Both, however, a very friendly when they come in to start their media sessions. McDaniel was just very measured in everything he said in wanting to make sure he got the message across he wanted to get across, whereas Hafley doesn’t hesitate.

From Thee Dolphins Dum Dum:

In your opinion, not the Miami Dolphins opinion, not De’Von Achane’s opinion, but in your own personal opinion, what would be a fair contract for all parties involved for De’Von Achane?

Per Over The Cap, the 10 highest-paid running backs are Saquon Barkley, Christian McCaffrey, Derrick Henry, Kenneth Walker III, Breece Hall, Jonathan Taylor, Alvin Kamara, Josh Jacobs, Travis Etienne and James Cook. While I wouldn’t put Achane in the same class as Barkley, McCaffrey or Henry, he belongs with the other seven. Their annual average salary ranges from $11.5 million to $14.4 million with the newest full guarantees usually around or a bit more than $20 million. Having said all that, let’s say that Achane deserves a three-year deal worth, say, $14 million annually with about $22-25 million fully guaranteed.

From JCEsq1982:

How concerned should fans be about Bobby Slowik as OC, given how sharply the Texans’ offense regressed from his 1st year to his 2nd? In 2024, Houston fell to 22nd in total yards per game, 21st in passing, 19th in scoring, & 15th in rushing — a big enough decline that he ultimately was fired.

Yes, there absolutely should be cause for concern, but the important caveat there is that the Houston offensive line was just insanely bad in 2024 after being at least functional in Slowik’s first year as offensive coordinator. On the flip side, Slowik does deserve some credit for Stroud’s very impressive rookie season.