Ranking the Last 10 Dolphins Drafts

There are a few reasons the Miami Dolphins find themselves in full rebuilding mode in 2026 with a new general manager and a new head coach, and right at the top or near the top of the list has to be sub-par drafting over the past 10 years.

While practically every team every year has its hits and misses, the problem for the Dolphins is there have been too many misses.

For every hit since 2016 like Xavien Howard, Robert Hunt and De'Von Achane, there's been a miss like Charles Harris, Noah Igbinoghene, Cam Smith and Raekwon McMillan.

In ranking the Dolphins' last 10 draft classes, it's unfortunately often a case of judging which one was less bad.

In any event, here we go.

RANKING THE LAST 10 DOLPHINS DRAFT CLASSES

1. 2016 — THE TUNSIL BREAK

The picks:
Round 1, T Laremy Tunsil (13th overall)
Rd 2, CB Xavien Howard (38th)
Rd 3, RB Kenyan Drake (73rd)
Rd 3, WR Leonte Carroo (86th)
Rd 6, WR Jakeem Grant (186th)
Rd 6, S Jordan Lucas (204th)
Rd 7, QB Brandon Doughty (223rd)
Rd 7, TE Thomas Duarte (231st)

The case: After trading down from eighth to 13 to pick up veterans Byron Maxwell and Kiko Alonso, the Dolphins watched Tunsil fall into their laps because of the infamous draft-night gas mask video. Moving up to take Howard at the top of Round 2 worked out great and Grant was a steal in the sixth round.

2. 2018 — THE MINKAH MOVE

The picks:
Round 1, S Minkah Fitzpatrick (11th overall)
Rd 2, TE Mike Gesicki (42nd)
Rd 3, LB Jerome Baker (73rd)
Rd 3, TE Durham Smythe (123rd)
Rd 4, RB Kalen Ballage (131st)
Rd 6, CB Cornell Armstrong (209th)
Rd 7, LB Quentin Poling (227th)
Rd 7, K Jason Sanders (229th)

The case: The first four picks became contributors, Fitzpatrick is a multiple-time All-Pro and Sanders became one of the best kickers in the NFL. That's good work, even if in retrospect Lamar Jackson would have a good pick at 11.

3. 2021 — GOOD BUT COULD HAVE BEEN MORE

The picks:
Round 1, WR Jaylen Waddle (6th overall)
Rd 1, LB Jaelan Phillips (18th)
Rd 2, S Jevon Holland (36th)
Rd 2, OL Liam Eichenberg (42nd)
Rd 3, TE Hunter Long (81st)
Rd 7, T Larnel Coleman (231st)
Rd 7, RB Gerrid Doaks (244th)

The case: Waddle, Phillips and Holland all had their moments with the Dolphins, but after five seasons not one member of that draft class is left. And we've said it before and we'll say it again, choosing Waddle over Penei Sewell after moving from 3 to 12 to 6 was a bad decision because a future Hall of Fame tackle is more valuable than a good, maybe even very good, wide receiver.

4. 2019 — MAKING THE MOST OF LITTLE

The picks:
Round 1, DT Christian Wilkins (13th overall)
Rd 3, G/C Michael Deiter (78th)
Rd 5, LB Andrew Van Ginkel (151st)
Rd 6, T Isaiah Prince (202nd)
Rd 7, FB Chandler Cox (233rd)
Rd 7, RB Myles Gaskin (234th)

The case: Not a lot of picks, but Wilkins was a good player, Van Ginkel a steal in the fifth round and Gaskin wound up leading the Dolphins in rushing twice (yes, the running game wasn't good, but still this was from a seventh-round pick).

5. 2024 — COULD BE ON THE CHOPPING BLOCK

The picks:
Round 1, EDGE Chop Robinson (21st overall)
Rd 2, T Patrick Paul (55th)
Rd 4, RB Jaylen Wright (120th)
Rd 5, LB Mohamed Kamara (158th)
Rd 6, WR Malik Washington (184th)
Rd 6, S Patrick McMorris (198th)
Rd 7, WR Tahj Washington (241st)

The case: Paul looks like a star and Washington was a steal in the sixth round, but this class eventually will be judged by whether Robinson can become an impact player.

6. 2023 — ACHANE SAVES THE DAY

The picks:
Round 2, CB Cam Smith (51st overall)
Rd 3, RB De'Von Achane (84th)
Rd 6, TE Elijah Higgins (197th)
Rd 7, T Ryan Hayes (238th)

The case: Yes, this gets the sixth spot because of one player, but getting Achane in the third round was great work. And as it turned out, Higgins has been a contributor in the NFL, albeit for the Arizona Cardinals.

7. 2025 — CAUTIOUS OPTIMISM

The picks:
Round 1, DT Kenneth Grant (13th overall)
Rd 2, G Jonah Savaiinaea (37th)
Rd 5, DT Jordan Phillips (143rd)
Rd 5, CB Jason Marshall Jr. (150th)
Rd 5, S Dante Trader Jr. (155th)
Rd 6, RB Ollie Gordon II (179th)
Rd 7, QB Quinn Ewers (231st)
Rd 7, DT Zeek Biggers (253rd)

The case: All but one of the eight draft picks wound up starting at least one game for the Dolphins last season and there's rewason to be optimistic about what they can become, but it's also a fact that none of them look like sure things.

8. 2020 — MISSED OPPORTUNITY

The picks:
Round 1, QB Tua Tagovailoa (5th overall)
Rd 1, T Austin Jackson (18th)
Rd 1, CB Noah Igbinoghene (30th)
Rd 2, G/T Robert Hunt (39th)
Rd 2, DT Raekwon Davis (56th)
Rd 3, S Brandon Jones (70th)
Rd 4, G Solomon Kindley (111th)
Rd 5, DT Jason Strowbridge (154th)
Rd 5, LB Curtis Weaver (164th)
Rd 6, LS Blake Ferguson (185th)
Rd 7, WR Malcolm Perry (246th)

The case: This was going to be the draft that got the Dolphins' previous rebuild on the right track given all the draft capital, but they didn't come remotely close to maximizing their picks. One aspect of the failures of this draft that really gets mentioned is getting virtually nothing out of the third-day picks.

9. 2022 — PAYING THE TYREEK PRICE

The picks:
Round 3, LB Channing Tindall (92nd overall)
Rd 4, WR Erik Ezukanma (125th)
Rd 7, LB Cameron Goode (224th)
Rd 7, QB Skylar Thompson (247th)

The case: The Dolphins surrendered their first- and second-round picks to land Tyreek Hill that March, which meant they couldn't afford to whiff on their top two picks, which is just what happened.

10. 2017 — WATT WAS THAT?

The picks:
Round 1, DE Charles Harris (22nd overall)
Rd 2, LB Raekwon McMillan (54th)
Rd 3, CB Cordrea Tankersley (97th)
Rd 5, G Isaac Asiata (164th)
Rd 5, DT Davon Godchaux (178th)
Rd 6, DT Vincent Taylor (194th)
Rd 7, WR Isaiah Ford (237th)

The case: Harris over T.J. Watt remains very painful nine years after the fact. This was a draft that produced only one regular contributor, which obviously isn't good enough.

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