The NFL Draft is April 23-25 in Pittsburgh and the Miami Dolphins own the 11th overall pick as well as the 30th late in the first round.
Everyone will be quick to post grades about not only the Dolphins’ first-round picks but all the rest.
We all know it takes time to really evaluate who was or who wasn’t a great draft pick. Here is our list of the Dolphins’all-time draft picks:
1. Don Shula (Round 1, 1971)
Go to the list of Dolphins all-time draft picks. Skim to 1971. Under first round, here’s what you’ll see: “TO BALTIMORE for Don Shula (22).” The Dolphins were penalized by the NFL for contacting Shula while he was still under contract with the Colts. Boo-hoo. The Colts ended up with running back Don McCauley. The Dolphins ended up with the NFL’s all-time winningest coach. Who won that deal? McCauley once joked to The Post. “It was nice to be a part of history, although they did go 17-0. … I would have loved to have played for Coach Shula.”
2. QB Dan Marino (Round 1, 1983)
The guy you surely expected to see atop this list. There’s a reason his statue is outside Hard Rock Stadium.
3. DE Jason Taylor (Round 3a, 1997)
Third-rounder out of Akron. Nobody made a big deal of this pick at the time. “Something of a project,” one report said. He was something, of course. Still giving back today as a Hurricanes assistant coach.
4. LB Zach Thomas (Round 5c, 1996)
Jimmy Johnson immediately made him a starter, warning the kid from Texas he better not let him down. Zach never let the Dolphins down, making it all the way into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The Dolphins haven’t had an inside linebacker like him since.
5. C Dwight Stephenson (Round 2, 1980)
Dwight checks in at No. 5 for the same reason J.T. is up there with him on this list. You nab a Hall of Famer this late in the draft, you’ve done something right. Can new GM Jon-Eric Sullivan pull off a similar miracle in 2026?
6. WR Mark Clayton (Round 8, 1983)
Shula was once asked if he had an inkling Clayton might turn out to be as good as he did. Shula was blunt about it. “When you take somebody that late in the draft, obviously you don’t have great convictions about him. Otherwise, you would have taken him a lot earlier,” Shula said.
7. S Jake Scott (Round 7, 1970)
He was a character who could drive Shula nuts. He also was MVP of the Super Bowl to complete The Perfect Season. So he drove quarterbacks (like Joe Namath) nuts, too.
8. S Dick Anderson (Round 3b, 1973)
Just like J.T. and Zach go together, so too Scott and Anderson, the best safety tandem in Dolphins history. Each knew what the other was doing.
9. DE Vern Den Herder (Round 9, 1971)
Had four seasons with double-digit sacks. Nobody in any of the previous eight rounds of the draft saw this coming?
10. LB John Offerdahl (Round 2b, 1986)
Worthy successor to Dolphins’ lineage of great middle linebackers following Nick Buoniconti and Zach Thomas (not to mention, he makes outstanding bagels). And if you’re wondering why Buoniconti isn’t on the list, it’s because he was acquired via trade with the Patriots, who lived to regret that deal. Trivia: When the trade went down, Nick wasn’t sure he wanted to report to Miami and even considered retirement.
Other picks you’d be proud to call your own
RB De’Von Achane (Round 3, 2023), WR Anthony Carter* (Round 12, 1983), WR Howard Twilley (Round 12, 1966), CB Xavien Howard (Round 2, 2016), RB Jim Kiick (Round 5, 1968), LB Andrew Van Ginkel (Round 5, 2019), S Reshad Jones (Round 5c, 2010), LB Bryan Cox (Round 5a, 1991), DE Jeff Cross (Round 9, 1988), P Reggie Roby (Round 6, 1983), K Jason Sanders (Round 7, 2018), DE Doug Betters (Round 6, 1978), RB Mercury Morris (Round 3, 1969).
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Here are the 10 greatest NFL draft picks in Miami Dolphins history
Reporting by Hal Habib, Palm Beach Post / Palm Beach Post
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
