Dolphins 7-Round 2026 NFL Mock Draft: The Jaylen Waddle trade changes everything for Miami
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So…I usually do my Miami Dolphins 7-round mocks at the end of the week. I just did one last Friday.
But this can’t wait. The Miami Dolphins took a stick of dynamite to their wide receiver room on Tuesday with the decision to trade veteran pass catcher Jaylen Waddle to the Denver Broncos. The haul is strong. It nets Miami two top-100 picks on top of the five they already owned — penciling them in for three picks in the top-45 and seven total picks in the top-100. But gang, that wide receiver room needs some work. And so the Dolphins will set about trying to fix it, along with other spots on their roster, next month with the 2026 NFL Draft kicks off. What could it look like with a fresh influx of picks? Let’s take a look with a new 7-round Miami Dolphins 2026 mock draft.
Miami Dolphins 2026 7-round NFL mock draft explores how Miami can navigate Jaylen Waddle’s departure
11th overall – Francis Mauigoa, OL, Miami Hurricanes
The only question about this pick is if Mauigoa makes it to No. 11 overall. Will he get typecast as a right tackle or, even worse, a guard by some teams? If he does, that’s the pathway to this selection becoming a reality. It would be a dream come true for Miami, who could play Mauigoa at right guard until the time comes to move on from incumbent right tackle Austin Jackson. (Or, alternatively, the Laremy Tunsil plan.)
30th overall – Omar Cooper Jr., WR, Indiana Hoosiers
I like Malik Washington a lot for who he is as a player. I’m a fan of the low-cost signings of Jalen Tolbert and Tutu Atwell. But gang, this is not going to fly as an NFL wide receiver room. So let’s draft a craft route runner in Cooper Jr., who is tough with the ball in his hands and offers good body control to adjust to throws at the catch point. He’s 6-foot, 200 pounds, too — so he can help bulk up that wide receiver room a bit.
43rd overall – Malachi Lawrence, EDGE, UFC Knights
Malachi Lawrence has JUICE. He’s an explosive edge rusher and Miami could certainly use another disruptive presence here on the edge. Josh Uche and Chop Robinson seem to paint the picture of a front that is going to play with a lot of outside leverage on the line of scrimmage. Such an arrangement would be to the best of Lawrence’s strengths, too.
75th overall – Malachi Fields, WR, Notre Dame Fighting Irish
You remember everything I just said about the wide receiver room? Yeah, let’s run it all back and add a BIG target to the room. Fields isn’t a burner and his stock seems to have been hurt by modest speed but you know that’s not really his game when you watch him on film. He’s a back-shoulder, above the rim player who is physical and aids the run game. Miami could use some of that in this remade wide receiver room, too.
87th overall – Kamari Ramsey, SAF, USC Trojans
Ramsey was once upon a time a buzzy first-round prospect. That was before his most recent season at USC though, which feels like eons ago. He is, ultimately, a well-rounded player who can play deep, in the slot, or on the second level. He shored up his tackling in a big way this past year, too — credited with just one missed tackle on the season.
90th overall – Sam Roush, TE, Stanford Cardinal
So we got bigger at wide receiver with the additions of Cooper and Fields — and now we get an in-line mauler at tight end to help shore up the 12-personnel groupings to go with Greg Dulcich. Roush is a hulking tight end who feels very “Green Bay” in nature, which by extension makes him feel like a Miami Dolphin these days.
94th overall – Will Lee III, CB, Texas A&M Aggies
The Dolphins have, literally, a dozen cornerbacks on the roster. Why not add Lee III to make it a baker’s dozen? Competition is king on this front — and the Dolphins have gravitated towards tall, long cornerbacks thus far this offseason. Lee III is 6-foot-1 with 32.75″ arms; plus a 42″ vertical and an 11-foot broad jump. That athletic profile closely mirrors new signee Darrell Baker Jr.
130th overall – Jude Bowry, OT, Boston College Eagles
A Boston College recruit from Jeff Hafley’s time in the northeast feels like a nice token add to the class. But Bowry is actually a pretty toolsy lineman who has my interest as a developmental option. Miami landed Mauigoa early but, in this scenario, he’s playing this season at guard. You can never have enough offensive line depth, which is a lesson Miami has had to learn the hard way too many times.
151st overall – Riley Nowakowski, FB/TE, Indiana Hoosiers
There’s no fullback on the roster but we need there to be one for Bobby Slowik’s offense. We added a true in-line player earlier in Roush but with this pick, Nowakowski becomes the jack of all trades role player that can play in the backfield or be the wing/h-back player to help the blocking surfaces from the edge.
227th overall – Jalon Daniels, QB, Kansas Jayhawks
Miami’s starting quarterback has a mobile quarterback skill set. Getting someone else in the room who can do similar things makes a lot of sense, especially as the identity of this offense is torn to shreds and rebuilt from the ground up. You hate to bring in a new quarterback and have to shred your game plan; so Daniels makes sense as a late round swing to serve as insurance to Willis and compete with Quinn Ewers.
238th overall – Mikail Kamara, EDGE, Indiana Hoosiers
Kamara is a fifth-year senior from Indiana by way of James Madison. He did not get a Combine invite, which is a damning indictment of how scouts across the league may see him. He’s a short but productive EDGE with some density — he’s listed in the 260s. Miami could use some heavier edges as they build out the rest of this room and this is a late-round flier worth taking despite modest length and athleticism.
Related: Troy Aikman shares a surprising update about his consulting gig with the Miami Dolphins
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This story was originally published by A to Z Sports on Mar 17, 2026, where it first appeared in the NFL section. Add A to Z Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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