The Miami Dolphins are in the midst of a head coaching search as other teams are still fighting for their playoff lives during the NFL’s Wildcard Weekend. After hiring former Packers vice-president of player personnel Jon-Eric Sullivan to replace former Dolphins general manager Chris Grier, he and his team of scouts will have plenty of work to do in order to remake and rebuild Miami’s roster moving forward.
The Dolphins hold the 11th pick in the 2026 NFL Draft after finishing the 2025 season with a 7-10 record. With numerous needs they could be shopping for — quarterback, defensive end, wide receiver, etc. — come April 23rd, Miami could go in one of many different directions with their first round pick.
Famed professional mock drafter, Mel Kiper, has begun to share his thoughts on how the first-round could go down in just over three month’s time. Just days ago, he released his first mock draft.
He, like most others, has the Las Vegas Raiders taking Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza with the first overall selection. Kiper has the New York Jets drafting Oregon quarterback Dante Moore with the second overall pick (assuming Moore ends up leaving school early).
However, when we fast forward to Miami’s pick at number 11, he has the Dolphins leaning defense with their selection.
LSU cornerback Mansoor Delane was Kiper’s pick for Miami.
Who is Delane?
Delane is a 22-year-old, 5’11” and 191 lb senior cornerback at LSU (though he spent his first three seasons with Virginia Tech). In 44 games during his four seasons with the Hokies and Bayou Bengals, Delane amassed 191 combined tackles, 7 tackles for loss, 8 interceptions and 27 passes defensed. During his senior season, he allowed just 147 yards on 13 receptions while in coverage during his 11 games played.
Delane was one of just 13 players nationally to reach unanimous All-American status in 2025 after being named a first-team selection for the Associated Press, Walter Camp, Sporting News, American Football Coaches Association and Football Writers Association of America.
The Dolphins could certainly use the help in the secondary after fielding a patchwork cornerback room that featured 31-year-old Rasul Douglas and Jack Jones each on one-year deals.
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What do you think of Kiper’s selection for Miami? Could you see new general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan focusing on defense early for the Dolphins? Let me know in the comments below or on Twitter at @MBrave13!
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