Where the Mock Drafts Focus for the Dolphins, and Whether That's the Right Call

There's a pretty clear pattern when it comes to mock drafts and what the Miami Dolphins are projected to do with the 11th overall selection in 2026.

And the consenus as February winds down and the scouting combine looms is that the Dolphins will be going for a cornerback.

This is based on a review done by SFdata9ers that examined 77 mock drafts done in a two-week span in February and revealed that Tennessee cornerback Jermod McCoy was the most popular Dolphins projection at 36.4 percent, followed by LSU corner Monsoor Delane right behind at 35.1 percent.

Coming in third was Arizona State wide receiver Jordyn Tyson, but he was the pick on only 7.8 percent of the mocks.

Doing some quick math, we can see that cornerback is favored for the Dolphins at a 71.5 percent clip.

For record-keeping purposes, the most-mentioned prospects for each slots have QB Fernando Mendoza as a unanimous No. 1, Ohio State LB Arvell Resse at 2, Miami OT Francis Mauiga at 3, Texas Tech edge David Bailey at 4, Ohio State WR Carnell Tate at 5, Utah OT Spencer Fano at 6, Bailey again at 7, Notre Dame Jeremiyah Love at both 8 and 9, and Ohio State safety Caleb Downs at 10.

McCoy, incidentally, comes in at the most popular choice not only at number 11 (where the Dolphins pick) but also at 13, a spot that belongs to the Los Angeles Rams after a 2025 draft-day trade with the Atlanta Falcons.

THE CORNERBACK CONCERN

The Dolphins are in clear rebuilding mode under new GM Jon-Eric Sullivan and new head coach Jeff Hafley, are really just need to build up the supply of young and cheap talent and therefore should be a lot more concerned about player quality than position.

Really, the Dolphins should stick to the best player available theory, which every GM publicly declares while actually often going with best player who fits a clear positional need.

The reality with where Miami stands right now is there's probably not one spot where the team couldn't use an upgrade except perhaps for running back, where De'Von Achane has reached elite status.

So if the Dolphins get to 11 and they deem McCoy or Delane the clear best prospects available at that time, then there would be zero issue with selecting either — though we'd be a little nervous about McCoy because he sat out last season because of an ACL injury and the Dolphins haven't had great luck with injuries in recent years.

But all things being equal, we'd refer to Sullivan's quote in the in-house interview he did after being hired where he talked about wanting to build a physical team and threw out the great line of "There's a saying in our business, fast gets slow, but big doesn't get small."

No lie detected there, and while McCoy and Delane are great prospects with more than acceptable size for a cornerback, they won't do much to address the trenches, where the Dolphins really need to get better.

It's why we'd advocate that 11th pick — assuming the Dolphins don't trade down to acquire more draft capital — be used on a lineman on offense or defense.

So maybe we'd prefer an offensive lineman here, for example if either Francis Mauigoa or Spencer Fano were available or maybe Olaivavega Ionae or maybe a defensive lineman like Reuben Bain Jr. or Peter Woods or Keldric Faulk or David Bailey.

Mind you, there's nothing wrong with either Delane or McCoy (if we can get past McCoy's injury history), but it says bigger would be better.