Waddle, Watt, Sewell and Dolphins Regrets in Aftermath of ESPN Top 10

The lack of top-end talent on the Miami Dolphins roster already was pretty obvious, but there was more confirmation through ESPN's series of top 10 players at each position.

The Dolphins had three players come in the top 10 at their position in the polling of NFL execs, scouts and coaches — running back De'Von Achane, linebacker Jordyn Brooks and center Aaron Brewer — with nobody else even getting so much as one vote.

Brooks was the highest-placing Dolphins player, coming in at number 7, with Achane ranked eighth and Brewer ranked 10th.

The only other Dolphins players who maybe could have gotten some kind of recognition are Patrick Paul and Zach Sieler, though Paul is not yet totally established as a high-end tackle and Sieler is coming off a mediocre season by his standards.

This performance by the Dolphins in the ESPN poll goes along with what's been going on in the Top 100 currently being unveiled by the NFL. The countdown reached number 63 on Thursday and Brooks is the only Dolphins player revealed so far, coming in at number 67.

Achane and Brewer would seem like logical names on the list, which was compiled by a vote of players around the league, though it's hard to imagine either being in the top, say, 30.

Those rankings, while certainly unscientific and subject to debate, do illustrate the high-end talent shortage the Dolphins are facing, which combined with the large number of young players and unproven commodities have made for very low outside expectations.

But something else that stood out about the ESPN top 10s were some of the really bad decisions the Dolphins have made in recent years.

DOLPHINS REGRETS IN ESPN TOP 10 LISTS

Let's break it down by position:

Quarterback — What stands out here is that Justin Herbert was ranked seventh, which of course takes us back to the 2020 NFL draft when the Dolphins chose Tua Tagovailoa fifth overall instead of Herbert. There should be no debate anymore that the Dolphins took the wrong quarterback, even if we want to point out that the Chargers are 0-3 in the playoffs with Herbert.

Wide receiver — Tyreek Hill was among the six players named as "honorable mention," though a quote included the obvious caveat of his health. It certainly was noteworthy that Jaylen Waddle was in the "others receiving votes" category, which would seem to make the trade with the Denver Broncos even better.

Tight end — It should be a bit painful for Dolphins fans to see Tyler Warren at number after his rookie season because he was there for Miami's taking at number 13 in the 2025 draft but the choice ended up being Kenneth Grant. With Grant having a pretty meh rookie season, this choice is off to a bad start indeed.

Offensive tackle — Seeing Penei Sewell ranked number 1 was really, really painful, and it brought us back to a point we've made many times before, that the Dolphins whiffed when they took Waddle sixth overall in 2021 instead of going for a foundational offensive tackle. By position value alone — even before considering that Sewell was regarded as the better prospect — a tackle should have been the choice here.

Interior offensive line — Some more 2025 draft regret here with Grey Zabel earning honorable mention after being selected five spots after Miami took Grant. Another honorable mention was former Dolphins guard Robert Hunt, but we still are not going to blame Miami for not re-signing him considering the huge deal he got from Carolina.

Interior defensive line — Landing at number 10 here was Jordan Davis, and it should be noted the Philadelphia Eagles took him at 15 in the 2022 draft with a pick they obtained from the Dolphins. That was when Miami made the dubious decision to give up that first-round pick obtained from San Francisco after moving down from 3 to 12 to move back up to 6 — and making the Waddle selection. Remember that the 12th and 13th picks in 2021 were Micah Parsons and Rashawn Slater.

Edge defender — After coming in at number 2 in the 2025 poll, T.J. Watt came in at number 7. That's the same T.J. Watt the Dolphins bypassed when they instead took Charles Harris with the 22nd overall pick in the 2017 draft. Ouch!

Cornerback — More 2021 draft regret. OK, if they didn't want Sewell at number 6 that year, then maybe instead of Waddle, they should have taken Alabama cornerback Patrick Surtain II. You know, the son of former Dolphins Pro Bowl cornerback Patrick Surtain. Oh, the guy who came in at number 1 at cornerback and was named NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2024.

Safety — No big draft regrets here, but the list of "others receiving votes" did include four former Dolphins players: Minkah Fitzpatrick, Jalen Ramsey, Brandon Jones and Jevon Holland. Jones looks like the way who got away here because he has become a quality safety since joining the Denver Broncos.

Add us as a preferred source on Google