Less than 24 hours after Jon-Eric Sullivan called De’Von Achane “not available for trade” and described extension talks as “turning in the right direction,” Achane walked right through the front doors at the Dolphins’ training facility.
It’s the headline on a Thursday that brought more than just a franchise-player update. An under-the-radar edge rusher came into clearer focus as a realistic day-two target, and one of the league’s most respected GMs dropped a warning about where the talent in this draft actually lives — a warning that could reshape how Sullivan approaches the back half of round one.
With six days until the Dolphins are on the clock, here’s what Miami needs to know. And if you want to run the board yourself, take control of the Dolphins in the PFSN NFL Mock Draft Simulator.
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De’Von Achane Is Back in the Building
De’Von Achane was spotted at the Dolphins’ training facility today, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. He’d been absent since the start of voluntary workouts last week while extension talks played out. Schefter reports that Achane’s return is a good-faith gesture as the two sides continue working toward a new deal.
This lines up with everything Sullivan said at his pre-draft press conference yesterday. He called Achane “not available for trade,” described the contract conversations as “positive” and “turning in the right direction,” and generally sounded like a GM who expects this to get done. Achane walking back through the doors less than 24 hours later reinforces that both sides want to make this work.
Missing one week of voluntary workouts is nothing. That’s standard operating procedure for a player on the last year of his rookie deal making $5.7 million when he knows he’s worth three or four times that. The fact that he’s already back before anyone had a chance to turn this into a real storyline is encouraging. It means the conversations are productive enough that Achane felt comfortable returning without a signed deal in hand.
It also gets him back in the building with Hafley’s staff during a critical window. The offense is going to look completely different under a new coaching staff and a new quarterback. Every rep Achane gets with Willis and the new scheme matters, and both sides seem to understand that.
Bottom line: The Achane saga is trending toward a happy ending. He’s in the building, Sullivan closed the trade door, and the extension talks have momentum. If a deal gets done before draft night, it removes the single biggest distraction hanging over this franchise going into round one on April 23.
The Steak, Not the Sizzle, Builds Championship Teams
The Dolphins don’t just need stars. They need starters. And Illinois edge rusher Gabe Jacas is the kind of prospect who won’t generate a standing ovation on draft night but could quietly anchor a defensive line for the next eight years.
Fox Sports draft analyst Rob Rang named Jacas one of his most underrated prospects in the class. “He’s not a guy who’s going to be a Defensive Rookie of the Year candidate or a future All-Pro guy,” Rang said. “But I think he’ll be a steady starter once he walks into the NFL. And I think he’s going to be that for a long time.”
The production backs it up. In four years at Illinois, Jacas put up 183 tackles, 35.5 tackles for loss, 27 sacks, and seven forced fumbles. At 6-4, 260, he’s got legit size. The reason he’s not a first-round pick is that his athleticism doesn’t pop the way evaluators want for a top-of-the-draft edge. He wins with power, technique, and effort rather than speed and bend. His player comps range from Matthew Judon (four-time Pro Bowler, 72 career sacks) to DeMarcus Lawrence (five-time Pro Bowler, 67.5 career sacks). Those are real NFL careers.
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PFSN Draft Analyst Ian Cummings says of Jacas: “Though Jacas is a well-rounded edge with strong knock-back power, his ceiling is capped by a lack of quantifiably elite top-end traits. He might never be a game-wrecker, but he’s explosive, strong, and nuanced enough to operate as a quality two-phase and three-down presence.” Jacas is the 42nd-ranked player on the PFSN Big Board and is 55th on Matt Miller’s board.
Edge is one of Miami’s most pressing needs. Chop Robinson is the only pass rusher on the roster who isn’t on a one-year deal. Everyone else is auditioning. Jacas at pick 43 would give Sullivan a plug-and-play defender who can set the edge, rush the passer, and hold up on all three downs while the rest of the rebuild takes shape around him.
Bottom line: Championship rosters aren’t built entirely with first-round picks and freak athletes. They need reliable, durable players who show up every Sunday and do their job. Jacas is that guy. If he’s there at 43, Sullivan should think hard about making the call.
The First Round Talent Cliff
Ravens GM Eric DeCosta said something this week that should get every team picking in the back half of Round 1 thinking. He sees a clear talent drop-off hitting right around the middle of the first round. “First round, there’s definitely a drop-off probably midway through the round in terms of talent,” DeCosta said.
He also noted this class is “a little less than last year” overall, with Baltimore’s board listing just under 200 draftable players. That’s fewer than the 250-plus picks that will be made, which means some team is going to have to reach outside its comfort zone by the late rounds.
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For the Dolphins, this is a two-sided coin. Jon-Eric Sullivan picks at 11, which is comfortably inside the window where DeCosta says the real talent lives. That first pick should land a legitimate blue-chip starter. But pick 30 sits on the wrong side of that cliff. If DeCosta’s evaluation is shared around the league, the players available at 30 may not be worth a first-round investment.
That’s another reason the trade-back buzz around pick 30 keeps growing. If the talent at 30 grades closer to an early second-rounder on your board, why not slide to 34 or 36, pocket an extra pick, and grab a similar caliber player? Sullivan has already been linked to trade-down scenarios with Arizona (who is believed to be interested in Alabama QB Ty Simpson), and DeCosta’s comments reinforce that logic.
Bottom line: Pick 11 is golden. Pick 30 might be fool’s gold. Sullivan’s challenge is getting maximum value out of both, and if the board confirms what DeCosta is describing, moving that second first-rounder for more volume could be the smartest play of the night.
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