The Miami Dolphins' draft history has never been a great one, not in the last two decades at least. There are more than two handfuls of questionable draft selections.
In 2015, Joe Philbin coached his final season with the Dolphins; it wasn't even a full season. The team's draft class wasn't good either. DeVante Parker proved to be average at best, Jordan Phillips played better after leaving Miami, and Jay Ajayi ripped up the field for a couple of seasons before his problems butting heads with the coaching staff began.
The Dolphins also drafted safety Cedric Thompson. The Minnesota Golden Gopher alumni had all the tools to be a solid, contributing safety in the NFL, but he never saw the field. His time in Miami never materialized beyond the practice squad. Now, he has reflected on his non-existent NFL career with a message that all incoming draft prospects should heed.
Former Dolphins Safety Cedric Thompson reflects on his football career and specifically why it didn’t work out in Miami. A good lesson in humility this morning #PhinsUp pic.twitter.com/6AXsJudQvD
— Cameron Sparks (@Cam3ronSparks) March 17, 2026
Miami Dolphins draft bust Cedric Thompson clears the air on his NFL career
Thompson spoiled his chances by not listening. He admits that now. He said that his time in Miami should have been different, but the lack of mentoring at the next level ultimately did him in.
Wilson was drafted in the 5th round of the 2015 draft. Typically, the mid-rounds can provide future starters, but Thompson admits that his entering the league was a challenge, and his ego got the best of him. In the end, that ego cost him his football career.
It's a lesson too many young players learn when they land in the league. There are hundreds of football programs at the NCAA level, but there are only 32 teams in the NFL. The players that make it to the league are the best of what the NCAA can produce; most of them will fail within a few years.
Leadership within locker rooms is hard to find. There are not enough players who can help teach the young rookies how to do the job at the NFL level. Most of those players are competing for a job themselves.
In Thompson's case, his struggles began early in training camp when he butted heads with Joe Philbin, and as he pointed out, a fight with Jarvis Landry later in the season. Thompson was mentally unfocused.
"I grew up seeing violence in my house. I watched my mom and dad get divorced. People around me were using drugs. I saw my friends and cousins get shot, get killed. Before I went to college, I thought that was the norm, that’s how the world was. And then I went to Minnesota for college, which was a complete culture shock. For the first time, I could walk down the street without looking behind my back."Cedric Thompson - 2015
In 2015, we thought Thompson was an easy lock for the final 53-man roster, but he was released due to his anger and inability to adjust. Thompson says now that he believes he should have been given the job rather than earning it, something he has clearly reflected on.
For a man who was unselfish off the field, once helping a homeless man on the streets, he couldn't get out of his own head to make an NFL career.
With the NFL Draft now a month away, hundreds of draft prospects and undrafted rookies will get a wake-up call over their first days of training camp. It leads some to quit before ever getting started.