The NFL Draft has concluded, and the new Miami Dolphins front office wrapped up their first draft at the helm.<\/p>\n
They bookended their draft weekend with 7 picks on day 3: 2 in the fourth, 3 in the fifth (2 of those thanks to the Dallas Cowboys in the Kadyn Proctor trade down), 1 6th-round pick, and 1 7th-round pick. The Dolphins were really able to find value down the board on Day 3 thanks to some of these players being undervalued in some way, which allowed them to net themselves some players that should be able to contribute from day 1, or at least provide some upside down the line.<\/p>\n
Trey Moore is a linebacker-edge rusher hybrid who is a good developmental piece to start day 3. The Spring Branch, Texas native was a zero-star recruit<\/a> coming out of Smithson Valley High School, but he played his way up from UTSA to eventually become a 4-star transfer recruit for the Longhorns. He dominated at UTSA<\/a>, breaking the school record with 18 TFLs as a redshirt freshman and posting 17.5 TFLs and 14 sacks in his redshirt sophomore season, winning Conference USA Defensive Player of the Year. \u00a0In Texas, Moore played more of a rotational role in his two seasons there, posting a total of 14.5 TFLs, 8.5 sacks, and 4 pass breakups. He was also a finalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy in his redshirt senior season, aka the Academic Heisman.<\/span><\/p>\n Like most of the prospects selected by the Dolphins, Moore has a great athletic profile. He’s undersized as an edge rusher at 6’1 5\/8″ and 243 lbs, hence the more hybrid expectation, but his athleticism makes up for it. Among edge rushers, Moore finished in the top 9 of every workout he participated in at the NFL Combine, including a 4th-best 4.54 40-yard dash. All told, he ended up with an RAS score of 8.87<\/a>, the decrease being due to his undersized frame. If you consider his testing as a linebacker, Moore has a much better 9.47 RAS, so Moore at least gives plus athleticism to the Fins. I can see Moore rotating in as a tweener, and he should also be able to help on special teams as well.<\/p>\n My goodness, what a pick. Louis would have been a great pick in the 3rd round, but the Dolphins instead got him late in the 4th round. Coming out of East Orange, New Jersey, Louis committed to Pittsburgh as a 3-star linebacker prospect. Like Jacob Rodriguez, Louis stuffed up the stat sheet<\/a> at Pitt in his final two seasons, being a second-team Associated Press All-American in 2024 and second-team All-ACC in 2025. He did it all, posting 6 career interceptions (1 INT for a TD), 25.5 TFLs, 10 sacks, and even a blocked extra point that he returned for two points. He’s got outrageous coverage instincts as a linebacker to pair with his very solid 8.83 RAS score<\/a>. He gained the aquatic nickname “The Shark” for his aggressive play, so he’ll fit right in with the Fins.<\/p>\n The only reason Louis was still available late in the 4th round was his size. At 5’11 7\/8″ and 220 lbs, Louis is undersized for a linebacker, but it isn’t too much of an issue for me since Louis’s main claim to fame as a prospect is his coverage skills, so he could find himself in the safety room (he would have a 9.58 RAS as a strong safety). This is fantastic value for a player that would have most likely gone day 1 if he were just 2 inches taller. In my 7-round mock draft<\/a> for the Dolphins, I selected Louis at pick 94, and even that felt a bit late. Louis will find a place to play from day 1: we shall see whether that is weak-side linebacker opposite Jordyn Brooks and Jacob Rodriguez, a big nickel corner, or even sliding him back to safety.<\/p>\n Something tells me that the Miami Dolphins scouted the state of Texas a lot. Michael Taaffe was a zero-star recruit and decided to walk on for his hometown Texas Longhorns, where he immediately made an impact as a redshirt freshman, earning a scholarship ahead of the team playing in the Alamo Bowl. Over the next three seasons as a Longhorn, Taaffe started 35 total games<\/a> and logged 196 total tackles, 7 interceptions, 9 TFLs, and 13 passes defended. He’s also a very high-character prospect, winning the Wuerffel Trophy (community service) and being named to the AFCA Allstate Good Works Team for his community service efforts in his final season in Austin. <\/span>Taaffe doesn’t have a fantastic athletic profile and is undersized as a safety, but he’s got good instincts and can at least contribute as a rotational safety and a special teamer thanks to his 4.5 40-yard dash speed.<\/p>\n This is also quite a nice “feel-good” pick, as Taaffe and Dolphins quarterback Quinn Ewers are great friends and were co-captains at Texas. Taaffe actually intercepted<\/a> Ewers twice in the Texas state championship game back in high school, so this pick fits a need, can contribute as special teams depth, and adds another high-character player to this Miami Dolphins locker room.<\/p>\n After addressing size at the receiver position in the 3rd round, the Miami Dolphins select a receiver with a lot of juice as a slot receiver with great run-after-catch ability. The St. Louis native has been around the block, playing for Jackson State, Louisville, Mississippi State, and lastly Missouri in his final season. Coleman was productive<\/a> throughout, posting 2,501 career receiving yards and 12 receiving touchdowns. He’s an explosive prospect and is effective with the ball in his hands. His 5’10 1\/4″, 179 lb frame warrants more of a slot archetype, but the Dolphins already addressed the outside, so Coleman can fit in as the potential slot receiver from day 1. More receiver depth, especially for a team in desperate need, is always good.<\/p>\n Seydou Traore is a fun pick. Traore, who was born in France but grew up in London, was an international pathway player and is the first draft pick from the NFL Academy after being one of the first players to be brought into the academy. After heading stateside, Traore actually found himself 300 miles north of Miami at Clearwater Academy, where he committed to Arkansas State. At Arkansas State, Traore made the 2022 All-Sun Belt First Team<\/a> with 50 receptions and 655 receiving yards. He then transferred to Mississippi State, where he was a solid contributor in the passing game, posting 730 total receiving yards and 6 touchdowns in two seasons for the Bulldogs.<\/p>\n This is overall a traits selection. Traore is undersized at 6’3 3\/4″ and 244 lbs, but he still posted an RAS score of 9.42<\/a>. He and Kacmarek are an interesting tight end duo since they are practically polar opposites as prospects. Traore is still very raw, but he has only been playing organized 11 on 11 football for 5 years, so he most certainly can find some ways to develop. If his development goes well, he could replace Greg Dulcich as the more receiving-first tight end for the Fins later down the line. This is an interesting flyer to take at the end of the 5th round.<\/p>\n If Day 2 was the Texas Tech day for Miami, Day 3 was the Texas day. D.J. Campbell was an extremely highly touted 5-star interior offensive line recruit coming out of Arlington Bowie in Arlington, Texas. He was a three-year starter for the Longhorns and started all 43 games<\/a> in those years. Last year, Campbell allowed only 1 sack on 18 pressures allowed, earning third-team All-SEC honors.\u00a0<\/span>At 6’2 1\/2″ and 313 lbs, Campbell has a stockier frame and doesn’t have the strength profile you’d like to see, but he’s got great speed and movement ability<\/a> that should do him well in a Shanahan-style offensive scheme. He’ll most likely only be a backup, but he could see some snaps as a rotational guard or center.<\/p>\n The final pick from the Fins, Max Llewellyn, is a technically sound edge rusher, though his athleticism leaves much to be desired. The Urbandale, Iowa, native is a former 4-star recruit who played in more of a reserve role for his first three non-redshirt seasons before starting for his entire senior season. He finished his Hawkeye career<\/a> with 64 total tackles, 20.5 TFLs, and 14.5 sacks. <\/span>Llewellyn didn’t test particularly well, but he did have a decent 10-yard split for his size and position. As Dane Brugler of The Athletic<\/a> put it, “Llewellyn is a good-sized, versatile edge rusher who doesn\u2019t grade as exceptional in any one area, aside from his nonstop motor.” He should be able to contribute as a special teamer while also potentially rotating in on pass-rushing downs.<\/span><\/p>\n While I did like what the Miami Dolphins did on Days 1 and 2, I do think that Day 3 might have been the most exciting for the team. Getting some great value picks in Kyle Louis, Michael Taaffe, and Kevin Coleman Jr. on day 3, when all three could have very easily gone yesterday, is a very good starting point. Plus, the other 4 picks have athletic upside in positions that needed to be addressed, so taking some swings on traits could pan out great for the Fins. All of these players will be key ones to watch as training camp and the preseason unfold over the summer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The new Miami Dolphins front office bookended their draft weekend with 7 picks on day 3. Let’s go over all of the selections.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4847,"featured_media":280264,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1647,4],"tags":[33533,34708,34704,34240,34351,34083,34706],"class_list":["post-279760","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl-draft","category-dolphins","tag-2026-nfl-draft","tag-d-j-campbell","tag-kevin-coleman-jr","tag-kyle-lewis","tag-max-llewellyn","tag-michael-taaffe","tag-seydou-traore"],"modified_by":"Sue Levine","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/279760","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4847"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=279760"}],"version-history":[{"count":25,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/279760\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":280110,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/279760\/revisions\/280110"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/280264"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=279760"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=279760"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=279760"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Pick 138: Kyle Louis<\/a>, Linebacker, Pittsburgh<\/h3>\n
Pick 158: Michael Taaffe<\/a>, S, Texas<\/h3>\n
Pick 177: Kevin Coleman Jr., WR, Missouri<\/h3>\n
Pick 180: Seydou Traore, TE, Mississippi State<\/h3>\n
Pick 200: D.J. Campbell, OL, Texas<\/h3>\n
Pick 238: Max Llewellyn<\/a>, EDGE, Iowa<\/h3>\n
Overall Day 3 Thoughts<\/h3>\n