Miami Dolphins: Michael Taaffe, safety (5th round)
If you look across the board at Miami's overall draft class for this season, you'll find one player after another on Day 3 who could make a legitimate case to start for the 2026 season.
With the Dolphins reloading almost everywhere on the roster, one area to pay close attention to is the secondary. This is new head coach Jeff Hafley's bread and butter. He's a secondary coach by trade, so the selection of Michael Taaffe in the 5th round is not something to take lightly.
The former walk-on turned into one of the most dependable starters in the Longhorns' secondary, and could quickly earn the trust of Miami's staff.
New York Jets: Cade Klubnik, quarterback (4th round)
The New York Jets, at some point this season, will probably want to get a look at Cade Klubnik. Unless Geno Smith has them in playoff contention down to the wire this season, there will likely come a time where the Jets have been eliminated from contention, and it will make sense to get Klubnik a look.
And frankly, the early returns on what he's showing at rookie minicamp and OTAs have been pretty positive. Klubnik is a really good athlete, he's got a lot of time on task from his time at Clemson, and the Jets' situation is a pretty good one for him to step into late in the season.
Buffalo Bills: Kaleb Elarms-Orr, linebacker (4th round)
A couple of AFC East teams got steals on the 3rd day of the 2026 NFL Draft at the linebacker position, but that was to be expected in a class like this. It's been a while since we evaluated a class of incoming linebacker prospects as good as this one, so a player like Kaleb Elarms-Orr lasted maybe a round or two longer than he should have.
He's a fantastic blitzer from the off-ball linebacker position, he has elite athletic traits, and he's someone you can rely on all three downs.
New England Patriots: Namdi Obiazor, linebacker (6th round)
Not only are there multiple Day 3 linebackers on this list for AFC East teams, but we have multiple potential NFL Draft steals at linebacker from the same college. Namdi Obiazor was teammates last year at TCU with Kaleb Elarms-Orr, our pick for the Bills, and both guys have a real shot to start this coming season.
The Patriots don't have the deepest group of linebackers in the league. Robert Spillane and Christian Elliss are the projected starters, so it's not out of the question that even a 6th-rounder like Obiazor could crack the lineup at some point this season.
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