The Miami Dolphins had two picks in round 1 of the 2026 NFL Draft, and they were not sitting idly, trading both of them. A small trade down from 11 to 12 netted them tackle Kadyn Proctor, and a trade up from 30 to 27 got them cornerback Chris Johnson. With next season seeming to be a rebuilding one for the Fins, both of these picks will have to contribute from day 1 and should be able to do so. The team and fans have high hopes that this draft is the start of better days for the Fins, so let’s get to know these two first-round selections.
Pick 12: Kadyn Proctor, OT, Alabama
A surprising and controversial pick, Kadyn Proctor is a colossal Alabama offensive lineman with surprisingly good athleticism for his size. He projects to succeed Austin Jackson at right tackle next season, but should rotate in the offensive line this season. The nearly 6’7”, 350 lbs lineman was the 5th best prospect of the 2023 high school class out of Southeast Polk High School in Des Moines, Iowa. He won the Anthony Muñoz Award as the nation’s top high school offensive lineman and then committed to Alabama.
College Overview
At Alabama, Proctor played north of 380 lbs, but later moved to a much more manageable playing weight of 350 lbs during the draft process. Even at his higher play weight, he showed surprising athleticism at the position, and that led to him being a 2nd-team All-American. Per Pro Football Focus, Proctor had an 81.8 pass blocking grade, an 81.6 run blocking grade, and an overall grade of 85.4. Heck, Alabama even used him in short-yardage situations as a fullback, rushing 5 times for 16 yards, and 3 first downs. Much of his struggles, unsurprisingly, came from stopping speed rushers, but with him slimming down, good coaching should fix that. Despite the limitations, he was first-team All-SEC, the co-winner of the Jacobs Blocking Trophy as the SEC’s top offensive lineman, and a finalist for the Lombardi Award (the nation’s top lineman).
Draft Process
At the combine, Proctor showed decent athleticism for his size, posting a RAS of 8.80 out of 10. Great size, explosiveness, and good enough speed and agility had Proctor rising up draft boards during the process. As mentioned earlier, he did slim down to a much more sustainable playing weight, so it’ll be important for head coach Jeff Hafley and company to keep that consistent throughout his development. There were rumors of the Cleveland Browns coveting him at pick 6, but they instead opted to trade down and select Spencer Fano at 9. Afterwards, the New York Giants went with Francis Mauigoa at 10, taking both top-tier offensive tackles right before the Dolphins’ pick. Still, Proctor, along with the 5th-round picks the Fins received for trading down with the Dallas Cowboys, is a solid consolation prize. He’ll also only be 21 years old at the start of his rookie season.
My Thoughts
Initially, I was a bit bummed the Dolphins passed on Caleb Downs at 11 and Rueben Bain Jr. at 12. However, as I stated in my Miami Dolphins 7-round mock draft, the offensive line has a steep drop-off, and this pick was right in the middle of the big run on offensive linemen. None of the first-round-caliber offensive linemen were available at pick 27, and Proctor certainly would not reach there either, so while the Proctor pick was a slight reach, GM Jon-Eric Sullivan played the board, acquiring two fifth-round picks and staying in the middle of the offensive line run. Proctor can develop and rotate in at tackle alongside Patrick Paul and Austin Jackson, the latter of whom has played 14 total games over the past 2 seasons and is on an expiring contract. Also, the Fins and Proctor himself expressed potentially slotting him in at guard.
There are some concerns with Proctor’s effort and holding himself accountable with training, but with how much of an investment he is to the Dolphins, I expect the Fins staff to be working with him at all times to make sure he buys into the team culture. Plus, in his media availability after the draft, Proctor showed self-awareness of his flaws and is looking to address them. Given how long the general public expects this Dolphins rebuild to be, drafting a mountain of a man with All-Pro tackle potential makes sense. I get that many Dolphins fans would have preferred Reuben Bain Jr. at this pick and are bashing the selection of Proctor, and I do understand the sentiment, but I’m willing to trust Jon-Eric Sullivan’s draft process on improving the offensive trenches.
Pick 27: Chris Johnson, CB, San Diego State
After trading down earlier to acquire 2 fifth-round picks, the Dolphins didn’t rest on their laurels, trading picks 30 and 90 to the San Francisco 49ers for picks 27 and 138 to select the guy they wanted. Chris Johnson has gotten a lot of first-round hype recently, and, not to repeat myself since I’ve written about him a decent chunk this past week, this is a great scheme fit. The Fins desperately need a cornerback, particularly one with the talent to play zone coverage, and Johnson has that in spades. A former 3-star recruit out of Eastvale Roosevelt High School in Eastvale, California, Johnson was a very productive two-way player at cornerback and wide receiver, but was fairly underrecruited. He opted to stay local and proceeded to dominate at San Diego State.
College Overview
Chris Johnson evolved into a truly shutdown cornerback for the Aztecs. His production in the Mountain West was unreal, allowing only 18 catches on 43 targets for 185 yards with zero touchdowns in his final season at San Diego State. Oh, and he also had 4 interceptions, 2 of which he returned for touchdowns, so he certainly has big play potential. One of those came in their lone game against a Power 4 opponent in Cal, where he returned an interception 97 yards for 6 in a blowout win. Sure, he wasn’t doing this at a Power 4 school, but those numbers at any level warrant national recognition, and that’s exactly what he got. Johnson earned Second-Team Associated Press All-American, Mountain West Co-Defensive Player of the Year, and first-team All-MWC in his final season.
Draft Process
Chris Johnson was initially thought of as a second-round player, but with how many teams predominantly run zone coverage, he began to get some first-round hype as the draft season went on. It helped that he ran a 4.4 40-yard dash, which was 3rd among cornerbacks this season. His pro-ready build at 6’0 3/8″ and 193 lbs combined with the best estimated athleticism score on NFL.com for cornerbacks had him, like Kadyn Proctor, shooting up draft boards, especially those that run zone-heavy schemes, the scheme Jeff Hafley projects to bring to South Florida. Last season, the Packers under Jeff Hafley ranked 7th in zone coverage rate at 78.4%.
My Thoughts
This is a fantastic scheme fit to me. In my past two articles, I have suggested Johnson as a Dolphin at 30 or 43 if he fell to day 2, so I feel a bit vindicated with the selection. The Dolphins need a corner badly, and with how scary the injury concerns are for Jermod McCoy (who fell out of the 1st round entirely), this was the best cornerback available for a zone-heavy scheme. Johnson should be a contributor from day 1 for Jeff Hafley and eventually find himself as the number 1 corner for this team.
So What Now?
Like any draft, the first round was unpredictable, and the Dolphins’ trading up and down played a part in that. As such, there are still plenty of first-round caliber players on the board entering day 2 of the draft. The Fins have 4 picks on day 2 (picks 43, 75, 87, and 94), so there is plenty of room for them to address their most glaring needs and even potentially double up on secondary, offensive line, or receivers. With how the board is right now, I would take, in no particular order, a sizable wide receiver (i.e,
Denzel Boston if he falls, Germie Bernard, or Ted Hurst , a defensive end, a safety/nickel cornerback, and some form of doubling up on positions. Jon-Eric Sullivan and the entire Dolphins staff have done a good job addressing the needs so far, so I’m really looking forward to what they do on day 2.
