Most teams coast on the final day of the draft. Miami didn’t get that memo. Seven picks. A B+ grade. And the kind of quiet confidence that tells you this front office knows exactly what it’s doing.
By Saturday morning in Pittsburgh, most of the headlines had already been written. Kadyn Proctor. Chris Johnson. Jacob Rodriguez. The big names were done. But here’s what separates a good draft from a great one — what you do when the cameras aren’t pointing at you anymore.
Miami came back on Day 3 with seven picks and zero chill. GM Jon-Eric Sullivan and head coach Jeff Hafley spent the final day loading up on edge rushers, linebackers, a safety, two more receivers, a tight end, and a guard. They addressed every remaining hole on the roster. They didn’t waste a single selection.
“I would say it was collaborative, cohesive. Felt like we executed.” — GM Jon-Eric Sullivan after Day 3.
That quote says everything. This wasn’t a front office winging it. Sullivan came in with a board, a plan, and the discipline to stick to it across three days and 13 picks. Day 3 was the proof. National analysts gave Miami a B+ for Saturday alone the highest single-day grade in their entire draft weekend. When your best work happens on the last day, that’s not luck. That’s preparation.
The pass rush need that Sullivan publicly admitted wasn’t fully solved in the first two rounds? He came back and addressed it with not one but two edge defenders on Day 3. The linebacker room needed depth and versatility? Done. The receiver room which started this offseason completely empty after losing Hill and Waddle now has real bodies, real competition, and real hope.
And then there’s the story of Seydou Traore a kid from London who grew up playing soccer, started football to chase a dream, and ended his draft weekend in Miami Dolphins teal. That kind of pick doesn’t just fill a roster spot. It fills a locker room with the right energy.
Day 3 is where most franchises lose steam. Miami found more of it. That’s new. That’s different. And honestly? That’s exciting.
You can judge a draft class by its first-round picks. Everyone does. But I judge it by Day 3 — because that’s where the real homework shows up. Miami did theirs. Seven picks, zero wasted, and a B+ to close the weekend on.
The rebuild has a foundation now. Day 3 was the last brick they needed to lay this weekend.
— Nestor Andre