The One (Tight End) That Got Away from the Dolphins

The Miami Dolphins are still looking for help at tight end after maybe prematurely giving up on a recent draft pick

Arizona Cardinals tight end Elijah Higgins (84) is tackled short of the goal line by Miami Dolphins safety Jevon Holland (8) during the second quarter at Hard Rock Stadium. | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

The Miami Dolphins have looked to build up their tight end room in 2026 and currently feature three rookies at that position.

Against that backdrop, one would think there was more than a little bit of remorse in watching Elijah Higgins sign a contract extension with the Arizona Cardinals on Friday.

The Dolphins haven't often watched a late-round draft pick they cut as a rookie go on to have success with another team, but it's clearly what's happened with Higgins

You remember Elijah Higgins, right? The Dolphins drafted him as a wide receiver out of Stanford in the sixth round of the 2023 draft with the idea of making him a tight end, but ended up cutting him in the moves to the 53-player limit.

The Cardinals claimed him off waivers and he's gone on to make himself a nice career as the backup to starting tight end Trey McBride, sometimes starting in two-tight end sets as well.

The Dolphins kept three tight ends that year — Durham Smythe, rookie free agent Julian Hill and veteran Tyler Kroft. The latter played eight games that season, mostly on special teams, and didn't catch a pass all year.

His would be his final NFL season, and it's pretty obvious by now that the Dolphins messed up by not keeping Higgins instead of Kroft given what we know now.

Clearly, the Dolphins didn't do a great evaluation job on Higgins.

What made it more painful is that the Dolphins had only four draft picks that year, the result of the trades that brought Tyreek Hill, Bradley Chubb and Jalen Ramsey, as well as the tampering violation that cost Miami a first-round pick.

The other three picks that year were CB Cam Smith, RB De'Von Achane and T Ryan Hayes, and obviously only Achane has panned out.

TIGHT END TALENT SEARCH CONTINUES

Interestingly, Higgins was drafted after fellow tight end Hunter Long was included in that Ramsey trade that also cost the Dolphins a third-round pick.

The Dolphins went the veteran route at tight end the past two years with Jonnu Smith in 2024 and Darren Waller last year, but now their most grizzled player at the position is Greg Dulcich, who is only 26 and in his fifth NFL season.

Having a lot of youth at the position is fine, and maybe Will Kacmarek, Seydou Traore and Justin Joly all will go from intriguing rookies in 2026 to significant contributions sooner rather than later, but clearly the Dolphins could have used Higgins the past couple of years and into next season.

The case with Higgins is interesting because if you take a look at late-round picks (say, sixth or seventh round) that the Dolphins have cut, it's extraordinarily rare to see somebody go on to succeed with a second team.

That clearly happened with Higgins.