What a Dolphins Trade Up or Down From 11 Might Look Like

The Miami Dolphins currently hold the 11th overall selection in the 2026 NFL draft, but it doesn't mean they'll be using that pick because they could be moving up or down from that spot.

If they move down, it would be to accumulate more draft capital as they continue what is a pretty significant rebuilding project.

If they move up, it would be the secure the services of a prospect who they like and don't feel would be available if they stayed pat at 11. Who that potential target might be can be speculated, and we'd offer players like Ohio State linebacker Sonny Styles, his safety teammate Caleb Downs, maybe University of Miami offensive lineman Francis Mauigoa and/or LSU cornerback Mansoor Delane.

The other part of the equation, if the Dolphins do trade out of the 11th spot, is what a trade would look like.

And the best way to predict, of course, is to look back at previous trades involving the 11th overall selection.

So here's a rundown of the six trades since 2000 involving that 11th overall pick, which involved two moves up into the top 10 and four moves down up to nine spots.

THE TRADES OF THE 2000s INVOLVING THE 11TH OVERALL SELECTION

The moves up

2016 — The Chicago Bears give the Tampa Bay Buccaneers a 4th-round pick to move up from 11 to 9 to select OLB Leonard Floyd.

2024 — The Minnesota Vikings give the New York Jets picks in the 4th and 5th round to move up from 11 to 10 and also get a 6th-round pick. With the 10th pick, Minnesota selects QB J.J. McCarthy.

The moves down

2006 — The Los Angeles Rams get a 3rd-round pick from the Denver Broncos and move down from 11 to 15. With the 11th pick, Denver selects QB Jay Cutler.

2010 — The San Francisco 49ers get a 4th-round pick from the Philadelphia Eagles to move down from 11 to 13. With the 11th pick, the 49ers take T Anthony Davis.

2021 — The New York Giants get a 5th-round pick and 2022 picks in the 1st and 5th round to move down from 11 to 20, with the Chicago Bears taking QB Justin Fields at 11.

2022 — The Washington Commanders get 3rd- and 4th-round picks to move from 11 to 16, with the New Orleans Saints taking WR Chris Olave at 11.

WHAT THIS COULD MEAN FOR THE DOLPHINS IN 2026

The first that jumps out from the rundown above is that no team has gone up higher than 9 in a trade from 11 this millennium, so based on that the Dolphins shouldn't be expected to make a big move.

The last time a team moved from 11 into the top five was all the way back in 1991 when the Dallas Cowboys traded three players, that 11th pick plus a second-round selection to get the No. 1 pick and select defensive tackle Russell Maryland, who had played for head coach Jimmy Johnson at the University of Miami.

It also should be pointed out that the Dolphins have been involved in not one but two trades in the 2000s where a team went from 12 to 3 in the first round — in 2013 when the Dolphins gave up only a second-round selection to move up (and take Dion Jordan) and in 2021 when they got two first-round picks to move down so the 49ers could take QB Trey Lance at number 3.

The best-case scenario for the Dolphins from this vantage point would be to find a team as enamored with a prospect this year as the Bears were with Fields in 2021 because that return to move down nine spots was pretty sweet.

The farther down the Dolphins are willing to move, obviously the bigger the return they should get, but they also will want to keep themselves in a position to land a desired prospect whenever they end up in a trade-down.

Conversely, if they move up, the higher they go, the more expensive it's going to be. And it bears repeating that the Dolphins aren't in a position to squander too much draft capital with all the needs they have.

The last time the Dolphins moved up or down in the first round was in that 2021 draft when they moved up AND down, moving back up from 12 to 6 to select wide receiver Jaylen Waddle.

We're not expecting anything like a 3-12-6 move this year, but some type of draft movement wouldn't necessarily be shocking.

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