Dolphins Sunday Mailbag: How Many Starters Would Make Draft a Success?

Part 2 of a mid-April weekend Miami Dolphins On SI mailbag:

From finsfan4life:

With the Fins having around $2M currently in cap space, say the Fins keep all their picks in draft and wanted to sign them all, which based on the current pay slot for each spot, it would be $18M in cap for 2026. Is it even possible. Should they trade some 2026 picks for 2027 draft picks?

Per Spotrac, the Dolphins’ rookie pool will take up $8.6 million of cap space because, remember, only the top 51 cap numbers are counted against the limit as some of the later-round picks won’t reach that figure. Also remember that the Dolphins will pick up like $20 million of cap space after June 1 once the Bradley Chubb cut gets processed. So the Dolphins will be fine, but you may not see rookie contracts being signed until June, which (if memory serves) is what happened in 2024.

From Marcus Zahn:

Given the enormous amount of needs, do you think it would make sense for the Dolphins to prioritize finishing the offense to properly be able to evaluate Willis (2 highly ranked WRs, 1- 2 TEs , at least one early rd G )? The defense will take time and another Draft/FA imho.

Hey Marcus, I have been consistent in saying that the Dolphins can see what they need to see from Willis even if the talent around him is less than ideal. If anything, it could highlight his problem-solving ability and ability to make something out of nothing, which is important at the quarterback position these days.

From Jon Russell:

Hi Alain, with some questioning the decision to sign MW, wouldn’t it be prudent to give him some weapons and protection early such as WR and OL Rd 1 or do you think this FO absolutely will take BPA no matter what?

Hey Jon, check out my previous answer as it relates to this notion that the Dolphins can’t evaluate him properly without top-end talent around him. I don’t believe the Dolphins will force a wide receiver or an offensive lineman in Round 1 unless they believe the prospect is the best option for this year and beyond. From where I stand, the Dolphins can’t go wide receiver or guard at 11 because the position value isn’t the same as, say, a cornerback or an edge defender. But it will depend on which prospects are available at 11.

From Jason Abbott:

Does Tua have an above average year in Atlanta or is he washed????

Hey Jason, that’s a great question and I would wonder why would qualify as an “above-average year” for you. If he’s got the proper talent around him, I could see him putting up decent numbers, but there’s nothing we’ve seen in recent years to suggest he can lift or carry the Falcons in key situations or against top competition.

From Kevin:

Are we getting any comp picks?

Hey Kevin, if you mean this year, those already have been distributed and the Dolphins didn’t receive any. As for next year, it’s obviously too early to tell, but given that the Dolphins have signed nothing but minimum-salary players or close to it and both Cole Strange and Larry Borom got solid deals from the Chargers and Lions, respectively, I’d say the outlook is good for 2027, though it won’t be a third-round pick.

From Jeremy Harris:

The one position you could see the Fins double down on is…

Hey Jeremy, the obvious answers here are positions that require a lot of depth and where the team is very short, and that would be wide receiver and cornerback. I might even add safety to that list, with guard also a possibility. So I’d make all four of those possibilities.

From divingpelican31:

Hi Alain. How many 2026 starters should be viewed as a success for this draft? Given the draft capital, I'm saying they need at least 4 starters by mid-season from this class for it to be considered an early success. I hope for more, but want to be realistic. What say you?

With seven of the top 94 picks, four starters is not an unrealistic expectation, but I personally would hope for at least two difference-makers. This is an area where the Dolphins really have come up short recently. Just look at that 2020 draft, for example, the Dolphins got three full-time starters with Tua Tagovailoa, Austin Jackson and Robert Hunt, Raekwon Davis was a part-time starter and Solomon Kindley had a lot of starts his first year, but there wasn’t a difference-maker in the group. The Dolphins got four starters in 2021 with Jaylen Waddle, Jaelan Phillips, Jevon Holland and Liam Eichenberg, but were any difference-makers? This is what Miami needs along with at least four of the top seven becoming starters.