It’s safe to say the Miami Dolphins are a team on a major roster rebuild going into the offseason.
Headlined by a new GM in Joe-Eric Sullivan and new head coach in Jeff Hafley, the Dolphins have already started that transition or roster reset by releasing key players over the past week including Tyreek Hill, Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, Bradley Chubb and offensive lineman James Daniels.
The Dolphins are also discussing a potential trade involving veteran safety Minkah Fitzpatrick. All the recent moves don’t even begin to answer the question about what the team will do with quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. With that storyline conclusion looming, the next big question is what Miami will do with the No. 11 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
With holes all over the roster, the biggest need aside from QB, is the defensive secondary. A look around at recent NFL Mock Draft suggests that top need and which players will fill that role.
NFL.com 2026 NFL Mock Draft: Dolphins land generational safety
With Minkah Fitzpatrick reportedly on the trade block, the Dolphins will need a secondary defender to lead the backfield in 2026 and into the future. NFL.Com’s Charles Davis sees Caleb Downs as that player. In his first NFL Mock Draft, the NFL media analyst has the Dolphins selecting the Ohio State star with the No. 11 overall pick in the draft.
Davis writes:
“First-year GM Jon-Eric Sullivan begins his new duties by giving head coach Jeff Hafley a big-time player for his secondary.”
This would be a big win for the new GM/head coach duo as Downs is a generational talent at the position who is highly praised for his versatility as a secondary defender and defensive leader. The Dolphins will have other areas of need to address, but landing a top-level safety is a nice building block on the defensive side of the ball.
CBS Sports’ Mock Draft: Is LSU star the next shutdown corner in South Beach?
Sticking with the secondary, CBS Sports’ Tom Fornelli predicts a cornerback at No. 11 for the Dolphins as he has them selecting LSU cornerback Mansoor Delane. This is another top need for Miami in the offseason. In Delane, they get a cornerback with good size at the position who can excel in man as well as zone coverage.
Fornelli writes:
“Mansoor Delane is a corner who has shown the ability to play well in both man and zone, and he isn't afraid to mix it up in the run game, either. He will take chances, though, and that can get him in trouble -- but it's that same aggressiveness that has helped him make plays.”
The Dolphins have key players in the defensive backfield hitting free agency so it’s a sure bet they will use this high pick to address the secondary even if they retain pending free agents like cornerbacks Rasul Douglas and Jack Jones as well as safeties Ashtyn Davis and/or Ifeatu Melifonwu.
In all, the Dolphins need to rebuild and identity on defense and NFL Mocks leans more towards Delane as the player who can come in and have more of an impact.
NFL Mocks pick for Dolphins at No. 11
In our latest NFL Mock Draft, the Dolphins are also lined to Delane due to his discipline as a defender. He will need to adjust to the NFL level, but as a player who has really emerged as one of the top cornerbacks in the nation over the past months, this is a win for the Dolphins.
In this full round Mock Draft, I wrote:
“The Dolphins need a major overhaul in the defensive secondary. They need a player with the skillset and attitude to be the top corner on defense. They find that in LSU’s Mansoor Delane who has skyrocketed up the draft big board at the position due to his ability to diagnose routes and his aggressive in mirroring receivers and limiting their production. Most notably, he is a discipline defender with zero penalties in 200-plus snaps. He also gets physical down in the box in run support.”
In all, Downs would be an outstanding pick if he slides outside the top 10, but Delane is the more plausible choice for the Dolphins unless a quarterback prospect like Ty Simpson impresses NFL teams enough to be considered a top 15 prospect. Unless that ends up being the case, the Dolphins should stick to a big-time cornerback at No. 11.