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Three 2026 NFL Draft prospects who the Miami Dolphins should avoid in the first round
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- Three 2026 NFL Draft prospects who the Miami Dolphins should avoid in the first round
The 2026 NFL Draft
plans for the Miami Dolphins
could best be described as "fluid".
There's no shortage of draft selections currently in the queue for Miami
and the current state of the roster has almost any and every position in play. But based on this year's class and Miami's long-term building outlook, there are some players who should be considered "out" for the Dolphins
in the early chapters of this year's NFL Draft.
Here are three players that the Miami Dolphins
should, under no circumstances, draft in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft.
Three first-round 2026 NFL Draft prospects who the Miami Dolphins should avoid drafting
Sep 20, 2025; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish running back Jeremiyah Love (4).
RB Jeremiyah Love, Notre Dame Fighting Irish
This is no shade at all to Love, who is one of the best players eligible for this year's NFL Draft. And, in a different timeline, he'd be a compelling option for the Miami Dolphins IF
he made it to pick No. 11. The key wording there is "different timeline".
The Miami Dolphins appear to be on the cusp of extending RB De'Von Achane this offseason. With the other holes on the roster, a double dip at running back is a tough sell. Even if the Dolphins didn't appear to be intent on paying Achane, this is still a tough fit for the 2026 Dolphins.
Trading Achane could yield a strong return. Using the marquee asset to draft a running back? This team needs to "build infrastructure", as GM Jon-Eric Sullivan put it. That means trenches. Pass rushers. Corners. And that makes a running back in the top-12 a no-go for me. No matter the intentions with Achane.
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Jan 19, 2026; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; Miami Hurricanes defensive lineman Akheem Mesidor (3).
EDGE Akheem Mesidor , Miami Hurricanes
Look, I love Mesidor as a prospect. I really do. But for a team that is probably two years away from an optimized window to compete, a 25-year old rookie
pass rusher is a tough sell. Mesidor turned 25 years old last week. Even if he's a success story, we're talking about a 30-year-old player by the time he takes the first snap of his rookie contract.
WR Jaylen Waddle
was traded in part due to concerns over his "timeline" as a player. Waddle, by the way, is two and a half years older than Mesidor and going into his sixth NFL season this fall.
There's also a ceiling versus floor debate to have with Mesidor. He was phenomenal this past season for the Hurricanes. But how much better will he become as a pro considering he's a physically mature player? It all just adds up to, in my opinion, a poor fit in the first round for a rebuilding Miami Dolphins team.
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Dec 6, 2025; Atlanta, GA, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback Ty Simpson (15). Brett Davis-Imagn Images
QB Ty Simpson , Alabama Crimson Tide
Miami's put their flag in the ground for a quarterback this offseason already. Double-dipping with Simpson as the QB2 in a bad class feels…unnecessary? Wasteful? The messaging out of Miami is that they do, in fact, see Malik Willis
as a viable long-term answer.
Drafting a quarterback this month? Sure. Using a first-round pick on one? In THIS economy? No thanks.
Miami Dolphins News
Peter Schrager has the Dolphins picking the right school but the wrong player in his latest mock draft
Craig Smith April 7, 2026
The post Three 2026 NFL Draft prospects who the Miami Dolphins should avoid in the first round appeared first on A to Z Sports .
