The Miami Dolphins are 0-5 heading into their bye week, and with this season already tilted toward the future, it makes sense to start looking at the 2027 NFL Draft. The team took the biggest dead cap hit in league history this year, so the short-term outlook is bleak. The long-term reset, though, is where the intrigue lives.
Using the PFF 2027 NFL Mock Draft simulator, Miami was slotted with the third overall pick, and that opens the door to a big decision at the top. The Dolphins could chase a quarterback, but there’s a strong case for taking a different route and building the roster first before handing the keys to a young passer.
With Malik Willis under contract for another season, that approach feels cleaner, especially with the 2027 QB class not looking like the can’t-miss group it was once billed as. Throwing a top-three rookie into this current roster would be asking for trouble.
That’s why Trevor Goosby stands out as the first pick in this mock. At 6-foot-7 and 325 pounds, he brings the kind of size and presence that teams dream about at tackle.
He looks like a potential decade-long bookend on the edge, and the logic here is simple: the best organizations, including the Green Bay Packers, where much of Miami’s braintrust comes from, build in the trenches. Adding a potential Pro Bowl left tackle is a smart place to start.
There are other directions Miami could have gone, too. With defensive-minded Jeff Hafley leading the way, an elite defender such as Notre Dame CB Leonard Moore or Texas EDGE Colin Simmons would also fit the conversation.
But landing a left tackle still makes plenty of sense at No. 3.
At the top of Round 2, Miami stays on offense and grabs Reed Harris, a 6-foot-5, 217-pound receiver from Arizona State. He’s been climbing draft boards by producing despite Arizona State’s struggles without Sam Leavitt, and his numbers through five games - 34 catches for 590 yards and seven touchdowns - show why.
The Dolphins’ receiver group has been rough this season, and whether the quarterback in 2027 is Willis or a rookie, he’s going to need real help. Harris looks like a potential WR1, and that makes him a strong fit here.
The rebuild keeps rolling with another trench pick in Round 3. Houston center Anthony Boswell comes in at 6-foot-2 and 301 pounds, and while he’s a little undersized by some standards, the blocking has been excellent.
He hasn’t allowed a sack in almost 500 snaps, which is exactly the kind of detail that catches a team’s eye. In a draft focused on fortifying the front, Boswell fits cleanly.
That front could be taking shape quickly. Goosby and Boswell would join Kadyn Proctor from the 2026 draft and give Miami three of the five pieces it needs for a strong offensive line. The rest of the current group, along with any free agents, would then battle for the remaining spots.
Miami’s next defensive addition in this mock comes in the middle rounds with Alabama safety Bray Hubbard. He’s the kind of versatile, physical safety who piles up tackles and takeaways, and that kind of flexibility fits Hafley’s preference for disguising coverages with movable safeties. He’d bring toughness and value in the middle of the defense.
The Dolphins then return to receiver in Round 5 and land Evan Stewart, another familiar Miami-type swing. At one point, the Oregon wideout was viewed as a first- or second-round talent, but a knee injury has slowed him down.
Even so, the speed is still there, and the upside remains obvious. He would give the offense a different kind of weapon to pair with Harris, and if he gets fully back, the comparison to Jaylen Waddle is right there.
Later in Round 5, Miami adds cornerback Zeke Barry. Though he checks in at 5-foot-11 and 188 pounds, he plays with no hesitation, throwing himself into contact and tackling like a bigger defender.
He’s a strong cover man and a physical presence, and one of his current NFL comps is Jaire Alexander, someone Hafley knows well from Green Bay. That connection makes the pick easy to understand.
The Dolphins do dip into the quarterback pool after all, taking Aidan Chiles in Round 6. At 6-foot-3 and 225 pounds, he has the arm strength and athletic tools that stand out right away, even if he’s still very raw.
He’s also not all that different from Willis, which makes him a logical developmental choice. Sitting behind Willis and learning the position would give Chiles time to grow into the high ceiling that makes him interesting.
Miami closes the mock with another defender in Teitun Tuioti, a player who fits the Hafley mold. He’s a strong run defender with pass-rush upside, and at minimum he looks like a useful rotational EDGE. If things click, he could develop into a solid starter under his head coach.
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Dolphins 0-5 Spiral Puts Pressure On Key Veterans After Bye
Miamis bye week arrived with the same uncomfortable backdrop it has carried through the first month-plus of the season: an 0-5 start and not a single lead held in any game. For a team built to contend, that kind of opening has put a spotlight on the veterans who are supposed to steady things, from quarterback Skylar Thompson to Tyreek Hill, Jaelan Phillips and Riley Patterson, as the Dolphins try to sort out why the execution has been so far off.
The frustration is not just about one bad phase, either. Injuries have made the margin thinner, missed assignments have piled up, and the lack of clean operation has shown up on both sides of the ball. Miami needs more from its most established players when it returns, because without sharper performances soon, the season is going to keep asking harder questions than the Dolphins can afford. [Read more 🡒]
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What has made the trade look even better from Miamis side is how the first chapter has played out on both ends. Waddles production in Denver has been quiet, while Johnson has already flashed enough as a rookie to suggest the Dolphins may have landed a useful piece for the future. Bell is still working back from a knee injury, and Moore and Louis are on injured reserve, so the full verdict will take time, but the framework of the deal is already giving Miami hope it made the right call. [Read more 🡒]
Troy Aikman's Dolphins Role Just Took An Important Turn
When the Dolphins turned to Troy Aikman for help in their search for a new general manager and head coach, it was part of a broader effort to get the next run of football leadership right. That process has already produced Jon-Eric Sullivan as GM and Jeff Hafley as head coach, giving Miami the kind of reset it wanted after bringing in an outside voice to help evaluate the field.
Aikmans role now has shifted into something far less defined. He is not operating under a formal agreement with Miami anymore, though the door remains open if the Dolphins want to call on him again. And with recent media speculation noting his possible availability for other NFL opportunities, his next move is worth watching even as Miami moves ahead with its new football leadership. [Read more 🡒]