Why the Dolphins Might Look Toward Ohio State And Which Prospect Makes the Most Sense

As everyone — and we mean everyone — tries to predict what the Miami Dolphins and the other 31 teams will do in the 2026 NFL draft, it's only natural to look for clues, one of them being links and connections from college to the pros.

With new Dolphins head coach Jeff Hafley, there are his two coaching stops in college that stand out and the fact he coached at Ohio State with Buckeyes head man Ryan Day shouldn't be overlooked.

Particularly since Ohio State has four prospects considered almost certain first-round picks, plus a fifth with a good chance at joining them in Round 1.

So it certainly did make sense in many ways to see ESPN analyst Peter Schrager predict Ohio State wide receiver Carnell Tate being selected by the Dolphins with the 11th overall selection. As Schrager explained, his mock is based on his intel and is more prediction than gut feeling or logic.

Before he became head coach of the Dolphins in January, Hafley worked as defensive backs coach at Ohio State in 2019 and was head coach at Boston College from 2020-23. And before his one year at Ohio State, he had worked with Day with the San Francisco 49ers in 2016 when Hafley was DB coach and Day was quarterbacks coach.

So, speaking of intel, there's no way the Dolphins have gone through this draft process without Hafley having picked Day's brain about all Ohio State prospects, in particular the top ones like linebackers Arvell Reese and Sonny Styles, safety Caleb Downs, Tate and defensive tackle Kayden McDonald.

If the Dolphins want any of the first four, they'll have to use the 11th overall pick because they'll all be gone by the middle of the first round, while they could have a shot at McDonald at number 30 if they want to go that route.

But while we like the idea of a Ohio State pick at 11 for the Dolphins, it says here that Tate is the last of the four options we'd choose.

RANKING THE TOP OHIO STATE PROSPECTS FOR THE DOLPHINS

The Dolphins couldn't go wrong with any of the big four OSU prospects because they're all high-potential players and Miami has needs throughout their roster.

That said, the reason we like Tate the least at number 11 is because of the question of positional value for a wide receiver along with the separation among top prospects at each position, where the difference is much greater at linebacker and safety than it is at wide receiver.

It's the reason we have advocated against the idea of not just Tate but any wide receiver at 11.

Any of the other three — Reese, Styles and Downs — would be a lot better choices from here, and Downs was available at 11 in Schrager's mock.

Safety is another position that doesn't hold the same value as most, but exceptions can be made for do-it-all players at that spot, and Downs fits that mold.

Styles and Reese have the potential to become difference-makers at linebacker, yet another position that usually doesn't hold the same value as, say, a quarterback, cornerback or pass rusher.

They're both high-end prospects and the chances of either being available at 11 seem pretty slim.

From this end, we'd rank the Ohio State prospects for the Dolphins as Reese first, then Styles and Downs and Tate as the fourth.