Jon-Eric Sullivan stood at a microphone in the Miami Dolphins offices after the first round of the NFL Draft concluded. There were a lot of questions everyone wanted answers to. A new Dolphins era was underway.
The Dolphins GM made his first pick after moving down from pick 11 to pick 12, where they took Alabama's massive offensive tackle, Kadyn Proctor.
Sullivan told the media that it was always Proctor they coveted. More than Caleb Downs and Reuben Bain, Jr., Proctor, Sullivan said, was "a rare talent, there was no one else like him in the draft." But what if there was? What if the Dolphins had other plans before Proctor was drafted?
One question leaves doubt the Miami Dolphins were all-in on Kadyn Proctor
In New York, the Giants' first-round pick, Francis Mauigoa, was speaking with the media when a reporter off-camera asked him about how close he was to being drafted by the Dolphins.
Mauigoa was taken one selection before Miami by the Giants. It's been widely speculated that in round three, the Giants traded up in front of the Dolphins to take Malachi Fields, which was the reason Miami went with Caleb Douglas. Did the Giants dupe the Dolphins twice in one draft?
Someone might want to tell him Proctor was the top OL on Sully's boardpic.twitter.com/qB6dQkjuSP
— The List - Dolphins Podcast (@TheListFinsPod) May 9, 2026
The former Hurricane was following along the line of questions from the reporter regarding the Dolphins' interest, but it became interesting after Mauigoa replied that "There are expectations," the reporter interjected, "It looked like they tried to trade up to get you."
This is the first time we have heard of the Dolphins potentially wanting to move up in round one, let alone drafting a player that wasn't "a rare talent like no other in this class." Another video has also surfaced of the Giants' draft room that further shows Miami may have had interest in moving up.
Miami has been adamant that Proctor was the "no matter what" prospect they wanted, but if they did try to trade up for Mauigoa, then that isn't exactly true.
It will be interesting if anything more comes of this, if for no other reason, the sheer joy of knowing they had other intentions, but as Mauigoa said, "There is nothing they can do about it now." After the reporter added his Dolphins tidbit, Mauigo simply said, "Oh yeah, well, first dibs."
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