Many of the front office staff give an insight into the Miami Dolphins' draft plans.
The Miami Dolphins have an important draft ahead, as they enter a new era under new general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan. With a new front office staff in place, it is imperative that the team hits on many of the draftees, which will help shed the narrative that the organization has been a mess for two decades.
With that said, many of the front office staff spoke candidly about what the plan is, and how they evaluate talent.
Director of College Scouting Matt Winston broke down how the idea of drafting talent is looking ahead to the future, and how evaluating talent should be in thinking about what can happen down the line.
"You always want to be thinking four or five years down the road. Even though we're only drafting 11 guys this year, our reports will be used this August when we're in preseason scouting, because then we'll be monitoring the waiver wire there and trying to improve the team however we can from players on other rosters," Winston said.
One of the biggest issues the Dolphins have had is talent evaluation, which is what former general manager Chris Grier was not the best at. It has been over 25 years since the team's last playoff win, and spending big money on top free agents and not securing a playoff win points to a major issue at drafting and retaining talent.
Sullivan made it a point to explain that the team would transition into a draft and develop type of structure, which makes sense given how succesful the Green Bay Packers team has been in terms of drafting.
Speaking of Sullivan, Player Personnel Scout Devon Smith broke down how the front office will look at the character more so than the other tangibles when it comes to fits for the new regime and culture change.
"Everyone's trying to find the best talent possible, but when it comes to non-negotiables, I think things I've learned since I've been here is just the character piece – finding the right people for the building. Sully says it all the time to us; we want smart, tough, competitive, and guys that love football. That's sort of the guys that we want to build our team around," Smith said.
A new regime change and new cast of coaching staff and front office staff means that the culture must also change. Some of the biggest pain points for the Dolphins has been a team that has been labeled as "soft" and not physical or demanding enough to not only win in cold weather games, but to not rally the players enough that has turned into success on the field.
While current and former players have certainly battled back and forth on those topics, one things is for sure, the Dolphins must win games. The torn-down roster may not be a winner in 2026, but the idea is to start building something that can have sustainable success down the line.
That is not to say this current Miami team cannot surprise people and be highly competitive in 2026, but the odds are certainly stacked against them. The Dolphins have less than $2 million in cap space, and are down on many established players.
After cutting talent like quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, wide receiver Tyreel Hill, and trading wide receiver Jaylen Waddle and safety Minkah Fitzpatrick, the Dolphins are at a big loss.
The reason behind those cuts and trades was to set the team up for success in 2027 and beyond. The next goal is to hit on these draft picks to turn this team into something fierce.