Among the endless list of Miami Dolphins needs as they set sail on their latest "rebuilding" voyage is the defensive line. The Dolphins tied for 23rd in the league with 39 sacks in 2025. Roughly 40% of those sacks came from players who won't be back in 2026. What the Dolphins do have on hand is, at the very least, pedigreed, if not very proven at the NFL level.
Miami returns Chop Robinson and Kenneth Grant, the team's last two first-round picks. Robinson's sophomore slump was a disappointing development, while Grant's rookie season left a lot to be desired. Another 2025 rookie, Jordan Phillips, actually exceeded expectations and is viewed as a bright spot going forward. Still kicking is the ever-reliable and wily Zach Sieler.
The latest intel from NFL insider Arye Pulli unearths a pair of defensive linemen with a combined 23 career sacks (and 36.5 tackles for loss) between them who will be making their way to South Florida to meet with Dolphins coaches and brass. The players in question: Oklahoma's R Mason Thomas and Louisville's Rene Konga.
The Miami Dolphins seem intent on adding proven pass rushers in the 2026 NFL draft
Thomas starred for the Oklahoma Sooners as one of their lead EDGE rushers over the past two seasons. For his career, he totaled 65 tackles, 25.5 tackles for loss, 17 sacks, and four forced fumbles. With a resume like that and a scouting report (courtesy of NFL.com's Lance Zierlein) featuring enticing lines like "twitched-up rush linebacker" and "explosive speed rusher with the ability to shave the edge tightly or create surprising push with leverage and speed-to-power conversion," it's hard to see what the issue could be.
At the NFL Combine, Thomas measured in at 6'2", which is only in the 13th percentile of EDGE rushers in the MockDraftable database. At 241 lbs (4th percentile) and with 31 5/8" arms (5th percentile), he is simply considered small by NFL pass rushing standards.
Pro Football Focus gave him an elite 85.3 grade for the 2025 season, which ranked 37th out of 872 EDGE rushers in the country. Likely due to his measurables, though, he is their No. 47 player overall. As far as Thomas' own response to his size concerns, he schooled us all with a little return to high school physics, telling skeptics, "Mass times acceleration equals force." The man is well-versed in Newton's laws.
The tape is captivating enough that he is still considered a top-tier prospect. In mock drafts by ESPN, NFL.com, and The Athletic, Thomas goes between pick Nos. 32 and 40. As a reminder, the Dolphins hold pick Nos. 30 and 43 in this range, making it likely that they could select Thomas if they so choose. If not, they could look to add a player on the interior that they are meeting with.
Konga is not similar to Thomas in many ways. For one, at 6'4" and 298 lbs, he is more of an interior defender. What's more, scouts have slept on him so hard that he was not only not invited to the NFL Combine, but was also omitted from PFF's Big Board, which supposedly features the Draft's top 450 prospects.
For some, this might lead you to believe he didn't do a whole lot in college. The stats tell a different story. Through five seasons spread between Rutgers and Louisville, Konga totaled 63 tackles, 11 tackles for loss, six sacks, and a whopping eight pass deflections. For some fans, you might instantly think of former Dolphin Emmanuel Ogbah and his uncanny ability to swat passes down at the line of scrimmage with unusually high frequency.
When it comes to athletes — something Jon-Eric Sullivan is said to fancy — Konga is in special territory. His 9.78 Relative Athletic Score (RAS) ranks 51st out of 2,271 defensive tackles from 1987–2026. His athletic profile compares to that of Dallas Cowboys All-Pro Quinnen Williams.
There's a real chance Konga goes undrafted, allowing the Dolphins to scoop him up with minimal investment. He does not feature in ESPN's 7-round mock draft, but the fact that Miami is bringing him in for a 30-visit carries real weight. If the Dolphins can harness some of that raw athleticism from Konga and refine it into a polished interior defensive lineman, look out.