The Miami Dolphins hit the reset button this offseason after firing head coach Mike McDaniel. The team fired its general manager, Chris Grier, in the middle of the season as well, making McDaniel’s firing less surprising.

Miami was known for its fast, high-scoring offense, featuring elite athletes such as Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle, and De’Von Achane. They weren’t viewed as a tough team, though, and it showed when they made the playoffs. The Dolphins lost in the 2022 and 2023 AFC Wildcard rounds, and their high-powered offense totaled 247 yards in those two games.

Dolphins owner Stephen Ross knew the culture and the team needed a change. He went out and hired Green Bay Packers vice president of player personnel Jon-Eric Sullivan to be the team’s general manager to help lead the charge. Sullivan has worked with the Packers since 2003 as a scouting intern, working his way up the organization. The head coach Sullivan hired was someone he knew well in Green Bay: Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley, who is tasked with shifting the Dolphins’ identity.

Neither of them has any NFL experience as a general manager or head coach. Hafley has head coaching experience, but at the college level, coaching Boston College from 2020 to 2023. One thing was made clear: the pair wanted to reset the culture. They got rid of quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, safety Minkah Fitzpatrick, Hill, and Waddle, taking on over $170 million in dead cap space for the 2026 season.

Now the two had to tackle the monster that is the NFL draft. Both have been part of the event before, but neither has led the room in selecting players. So, how did the pair do in their first shot at it together?

Green Bay Influence?

Before we dive into the Dolphins draft class, it’s important to highlight the Packers draft philosophy over the years. Sullivan has been a part of the process for decades, so it’ll be interesting to see if that philosophy bleeds into what the Dolphins did in 2026.

Green Bay is led by general manager Brian Gutekunst, who typically takes chances on younger players with more upside as athletes, guys with elite physical traits over the immediate team need. He values premium positions as well, in the offensive line, edge rushers, and corners. Another interesting note: before the 2025 NFL draft, the Packers hadn’t taken a first-round wide receiver since 2002, when they selected Javon Walker; they took Matthew Golden in the first round last year, ending a two-decade drought.

The Packers rarely take receivers and often bet on higher-upside players. Looking at their history, it’s true. In 2026, they took Brandon Cisse in the second round, who’s viewed as a developmental corner. In 2025, they selected Savion Williams and Anthony Belton, two players with great upside. In 2024, they took offensive lineman Jordan Morgan in the first round, who was viewed more as an athlete coming out of Arizona. There are more examples, but you get the premise of how Gutekunst drafts.

Miami Dolphins Draft

The Dolphins had the most draft picks of any team this year and addressed multiple areas of need over the three-day event. Looking at the philosophy and the clear motive to reset the culture, they did both.

The first selection for any new regime within an organization is important. It sets the tone, and it’s the first shot at resetting the culture within the building. Taking a 6-foot-7 and 350-pound tackle is a good indication of what the Dolphins want to be known as, and it’s in the trenches. Proctor will shift to guard in the NFL and went a little early for me. If the team wanted to go guard, I felt Penn State guard Olaivavega Ioane was the better option. Still, this is a great culture-changing pick. Proctor sets the tone for how nasty and physical this offensive line can be after being more of an athletic type over the past couple of seasons.

Looking at Hafley’s defensive scheme, he runs a heavy zone scheme in the backend but an aggressive front seven. The selection of Johnson at 27 is one of the best scheme fits in this entire draft. Johnson is tremendous when he’s in off coverage, and he can be the leader of the Miami secondary going forward.

Day 2 is where you see a little bit of the Green Bay philosophy sneak in. Rodriguez is again a playmaker and loves to come downhill and make plays in the run game, making him a great scheme fit.. Douglas was a surprising pick for me. He earned a 9.54 relative athletic score by running a 4.39 40 and having a 10′ 06″ broad jump at 6 feet 3 inches and 206 pounds. You see the athletic upside there. Kacmarek is a tough, nasty run blocker who signals the culture change on the offensive side of the ball. Bell is a big 6-foot-2, 220-pound receiver with tremendous acceleration and athletic upside.

Day 3 was more of the same. Louis is a versatile defender who can play in the box or even transition to safety, but he’s tough-minded and unafraid. Coleman ran a 4.49 40 but had a 38.5-inch vertical and a 10′ 06″ broad jump, which are great numbers for his size. Traore, Campbell and Llewellyn are all culture picks; they are all tougher players who give tremendous effort on the field.

I gave this draft an A. I think Hafley and Sullivan knew what needed to change in Miami and made sure this draft class was the start of that.

Outlook

None of these players has taken the field yet. What the Dolphins have in this draft is clear: the culture Hafley and Sullivan wanted. “Toughness,” “downhill,” and “explosive” are attributes that describe every single draft pick they made. It’s hard to nail a first draft as a duo, but man, Hafley and Sullivan did a damn good job.

Dolphins fans haven’t had much to smile about for years. The team was putting up historic offensive numbers in the regular season, but it never amounted to anything in the postseason. It goes back to the old saying of “defense wins championships,” and Ross noticed what he had wasn’t working. The reset button has been hit, and the tides are starting to shift in South Beach.

Miami fans, you should be excited for what this duo will bring to your franchise. It may not show itself this year, but the culture is already changing. The sky’s the limit for what this group of young players can become.