The Dolphins’ trade of wide receiver Jaylen Waddle to the Broncos was the team’s latest offseason move to elicit questions about their goals for the coming season. Moving Waddle while parting ways with a slew of other veterans in moves that have left the team with significant dead cap money has led many to suggest that the Dolphins are looking at 2026 as a year to focus on building for the future while passing on doing all they can to compete in the present. General Manager Jon-Eric Sullivan was asked about that perception during an appearance on PFT Live this week and Sullivan called it a “false” premise. While he acknowledged that he and head coach Jeff Hafley stepped into “a unique situation,” Sullivan insisted that the roster maneuvers are being done with an eye on trying to win right away. “I have incredible faith in Jeff Hafley’s ability to lead,” Sullivan said. “I know that he and his staff will have this team ready to play and we’re going to show up and compete. Where it goes, it goes. We’ll build this thing out for the future, but we’re here to win now as well. Make no mistake about it.” Sullivan noted that a lot of players on the Dolphins roster are on one-year deals, which does create a lot of motivation for players to put their best showings on tape. Whether players in that contractual position for a team coming off a poor season are the right ones to create a winner is a question that will be answered in the fall.
I think that he's saying what he thinks he needs to say to appease the anti-tank cult. They were loud the last time and were already out in force before Sullivan and Haffley were even hired this time. So he says that they plan to win regardless of what he actually expects will happen, which i think its probably something like 2-15.
Based on the moves Sullivan has made thus far, it’s not a tank. He walked in to most likely the WORST situation in the league when it came to the salary cap. Tua, Chubb, Ramsey, Tyreek. Grier had so much of our salary cap tied up in luxuries we simply couldn’t afford. The only way to get the team healthy was to take it on the chin this season and cut the pork from the roster. $170 million in dead cap space on just 3 of those players. Mind boggling. I know this season is going to be tough. Having so little money and signing multiple 1 year “prove it” contracts can potentially be that proverbial carrot for players to prove they deserve to be on the team and potentially earn a big payday. Next season we’re projected to have $145 million in cap space. That’s going to be able to sign these players that proved it to a longer termed contract they worked for. But also keep in mind, the Green Bay model for years has been build through the draft. Have those young hungry players and keep them longer term. Now while it sucked to trade Waddle, it was a win for the Dolphins. Waddle is one of the better receivers in the league and the price of wide receivers is only going up. Better to trade him now for a 1st and 3rd round pick to build the future than potentially be held hostage to a new contract demand, which was the Grier model.
Man, we really need to nail the draft. Then, we need to find the right mix of rookies and experienced players to get the young guys a chance to grow. Ideally, we might take lumps early in the season but progressively improve as the game slows down. I'm not expecting anything but to avoid embarrassing play like we saw the first half of last season and something at the end of the year that makes me believe Hafley can coach, Sully can scout and make transactions, and I have a logical reason to think that 2027 will see upward competitive performance trends.
I watched the actual interview and on Waddle, he said that we probably wouldn't be competing for the division for a few seasons and Waddle is in his prime now. They did not want to trade him, but replacing his salary with two rookie contracts made sense for right now. They liked the offer and felt that it was fair for both teams, so they made the move. For Achane, however, he said that the kid is special and he's the future of the franchise. They are working on extending him now and they don't want him to go anywhere. Throughout the interview, he repeated "this is an extraordinary set of circumstances," meaning that he took on a team with a ton of free agents and no money to pay them next year. He also said that several players are on a one-year "prove it" contract and he hopes each of them does prove it. His main focus was nailing the draft because those 11 picks ultimately need to turn into 11 starters in the years to come.
It was a good interview. I think Sullivan was forthright and candid about the Dolphins and their current situation. Furthermore it sure seemed to me they are far from tank mode. They’re going to try and win as many games possible, which could explain the rumor mill of the Dolphins really trying to pick up a second 1st round draft pick for 2027…just in case they do well enough this season to keep them from drafting high enough in 2027. Im just really eager to see what the Dolphins do prior to and on draft day. I have a feeling we’re going to see a trade or 2 of draft picks during the draft.
I wouldn't be opposed to seeing us trade pick #30 for a 2027 first round pick. We don't know this regimen though so we don't know if they're likely to move upwards or downwards based on their boards. I hope they would move if they see someone they really want; that's always frustrated me when we said, "We would have taken so and so a few spots earlier, but we knew the other team wanted him too." If that's the case, move up and get your person!
Of course they're not "tanking". "Tanking" is a made up notion by fans. Hopefully no need to explain why. If they're the right guys for the job, they will build things the best they can. They have to clean all the dung Grier left on this franchise. They'll do the best they can to field a competitive team while keeping their eye and focus on the future and building it the right way for sustainable success. It's not one or the other. So far, Sully seems to be doing things the right way. Who knows?
Don't be surprised if we move down a couple of times in the draft to get additional 2027 compensation. I don't think we trade the #30 pick this year, but I can see us adding 2-3 picks next season while still selecting at leas 10 players this year. It wouldn't shock me at all to see us drop from #43 to #50 (for example) while picking up a third or fourth round pick for next year and then doing it again sometime on day 2.
If they just follow their model from GB this is going to be a solid draft. It's almost impossible to not get 4-5 starters from it as long as you select good players. And they have an outside chance of getting 6-7 with so many picks. The Willis signing was their commitment to be competitive now. I don't see fewer then 4 wins with the possibility of 9 if the draft board falls in their favor. If they are looking for a new QB in 2027s draft they better hope for a deep class in which someone falls to them because they may not be in the top 10. (My aqua and orange glasses are on).
I'd be okay with a trade back for an extra 2nd round pick this year. Next year is good too. It can really make a difference in filling out this roster and being very competitive this season.
They're not tanking until it's time to tank. Nobody is going to flat out say "yeah, we're trying to lose." Fans would simply not go to the games and there would be a massive drop in team sales. Sure, we're going to be perennial losers for the foreseeable future, but the organization still wants to make money. With all that being said, I certainly hope we aren't losers. I hope we shock the NFL world and actually win. I hope Malik Willis turns into a franchise Quarterback and we pull a Seattle. The NFL has quick turnarounds with teams, so it isn't out of the question that we actually improve quicker than expectations say we will.
Whatever needs to happen to this season to get to the top pick, that's what I'm pulling for. I don't see it as a deep class at all. Two guys with potential at the top, though questions to. That's it.
I'm honestly not sure if we will be that bad (to secure #1 overall). Willis and Achane in the backfield is going to be chaos for defenses; we just need someone to catch the ball and there's no shortage of NFL possession receivers. Even without a WR1, I think we'll score enough to win 5+ games this year. Maybe the defense lets us down though and let's many wins slip through our fingers. If that's the case, so be it. More than anything though, I want to see a competitive football team because that's what builds the culture. As much as I liked McDaniel, there really was zero excuse to start last season with a historically terrible defense. You can't build a team like that because nobody is going to buy in. If it happens once, okay, you're humbled and you come out like roaring lions the next week. But if we start like that again, losing quickly becomes the norm and it's super hard to turn that around. I'll take winning culture over #1 overall any day of the week. We'll see how it all shakes out though.
Oh i think that Willis is awful. If hes not injured I expect that he'll be benched sometime after mid season when our record is something like 1-10.
It doesn't matter if they move up or down. I just want them to be accurate about the players that they do pick. I want them to come away with starters, whatever strategy they use. I tried AI again, though I got burned by an AI hallucination when asking about arm length of all things, so I am posting the whole answer. I asked how many starters are added on average from a draft: Approximately 257–259 players are drafted annually in the seven-round NFL Draft. While nearly 75–80% of these rookies make a 53-man roster, about 130–150 drafted rookies typically start at some point during their debut season. Roughly 4–5 drafted rookies per team make the roster, with top-three round picks having the highest probability of becoming immediate starters. Draft Class Starter Trends Total Drafted: ~257–259 players per year. Rookie Starters: ~134–152 rookies start at some point during the season. Draft Position Impact: In 2023, nearly two-thirds of all starting spots were taken by players drafted in the top three rounds. Success Rates: Roughly 75%–80% of drafted players make the final 53-man roster, compared to only ~20% of undrafted free agents. Definition of a Starter The number of "starters" can vary depending on whether it is defined as a Week 1 starter or a player who starts at least half the season's games. A "good" draft class often yields 4–5 players who become long-term contributors. With the 7 picks in the top three rounds I have large expectations. Grier's best draft was his last one, but I felt that way about him a lot, only to be disappointed by the ultimate results. It takes 3 years for those bubble type players, that show enough to be hopeful, but not enough to know either way. I'm looking at, and cheering for, you Chop. Be as great as you flash. Sometimes, there are clear hits (Waddle was the truth from the start), or misses (pick a Grier CB). If they do field a competitive team with the majority of their salary cap taken up by players not on the team... Wow. The last half of this decade could be fun for Dolphins fans. I am always a half full and filling type of guy for the Dolphins though.
Aah, okay. I hope you're wrong and I am encouraged by his more recent film in GB. I know you dislike mobile QBs though and that's exactly what we have. One thing that kind of stuck in the back of my mind watching highlight film of the last two years, he often made a spectacular play on 3rd and 20 or something like that. But I really wanted to see the first two downs that led to the 3rd and 20 situation to begin with. Did the QB choke or did a lineman jump offsides? The context definitely matters there and I don't have it, LOL.
I do have my own preferences, no doubt. But I also watched a cutup of every single play he had with GB where he stayed in the pocket and didn't run, and his mechanics and footwork and passing motion are just awful. I mean, to the level where its hard to believe he's an NFL QB. If you disregard the result of the play and just focus on him and what he's doing, I think its pretty clear that NFL defensive coaches are just going to slaughter him and our offense.
