The Miami Dolphins have officially entered a rebuild, hiring a new head coach and general manager and signing a new quarterback. Fortunately, Miami has plenty of resources to jump-start this rebuild. The team is set to enter the 2026 NFL Draft with 11 total picks, with seven of those picks in the top 100 selections. That allows Miami to find several possible cornerstones for the next era of Dolphins football.
While that’s a good approach for the team to take, one analyst thinks the franchise should explore another path. ESPN’s Bill Barnwell, in a piece highlighting which teams should look to trade picks in the 2026 Draft, argued that Miami should use its 2026 haul of picks to acquire more selections in 2027.
ESPN's Bill Barnwell says Miami Dolphins should try to trade 2026 picks for 2027 picks
Barnwell’s case was built on two sensible points. The first point is simple: everyone expects the 2027 Draft to be a significantly better class than 2026. While it’s a running trope that next year’s class is always the best one, 2027 is shaping up to be a generational group of prospects at priority positions like quarterback and wide receiver.
The other point by Barnwell was a bit more specific, but also a good one. The analyst explained that new general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan was just recently hired, and that he hadn't completely overhaul the Dolphins staff yet. That means the department creating the draft board will consist of Miami staff members who worked under Chris Grier, and former Green Bay Packers staff who spent the last year working towards a different objective.
That mix-up could result in an odd draft process, which is why Barnwell argues that it could be beneficial to go all in on next year’s draft, once everyone is in sync and on the same page.
"The other factor is based on information. Though Sullivan might not completely overhaul the Dolphins front office over the next few months, all of the preparation for this year's draft was done by the former regime of Chris Grier and his staff. Sullivan and his team were doing their own prep in Green Bay, of course, but the Packers were also down their first-round pick… which probably influenced how they approached their scouting during the 2025 college football season."
"By next autumn, Sullivan will have more of his people in place and be more confident that the scouting intel he's getting is in line with what he looks for from potential prospects."
Both points are certainly fair from Barnwell. Additionally, expectations aren’t high for the Dolphins in 2026, so there probably wouldn’t be a lot of focus on the team kicking their rebuild a year down the road. There is one problem, though. Every team is reportedly gearing up for the 2027 Draft, so Miami might not find many dancing partners to help them execute this strategy.
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