INDIANAPOLIS — New Miami Dolphins coach Jeff Hafley didn’t have his way when he recruited Mansoor Delane to Boston College.
Hafley could finally land him on his team April 23 when the Dolphins are on the clock in the first round.
If Miami was to go with a cornerback, a position of need on the roster, with that No. 11 pick, it would likely be between LSU’s Delane and Tennessee’s Jermod McCoy, whom most consider the top two cornerbacks in the 2026 class.
Delane, speaking at a podium at the NFL scouting combine Thursday morning before a scheduled meeting with the Dolphins later in the day, recalled Hafley’s role in his recruitment out of Maryland when asked his thoughts on the Dolphins, a team linked to him in mock drafts.
“Coach Hafley, he’s a guy who recruited me too at Boston College, so I’m very familiar with him,” Delane said at Indiana Convention Center. “I’m excited to meet with him (Thursday).”
As it turned out, Delane spent his first three college seasons at Virginia Tech and transferred to LSU for his senior year. He had two of his eight interceptions and 11 of his 27 pass deflections with the Tigers in 2025.
“Showing consistency. That was the biggest thing for me,” Delane said. “I always had the talent, but it was just being able to put it all together. So, when I came to LSU, just taking one play at a time, next-play mentality, just being locked in every snap.”
Delane possesses the physical traits to be a lock-down cornerback in the NFL, and he doesn’t shy away from contact on the outside.
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“If I had the choice, I’d play middle linebacker in college. I just love physicality. I love tackling. I love being in the box,” he said. “A lot of corners might be scared to tackle, but I love that.”
Where could he improve?
“I want to take the ball away more,” Delane said. “That’s a big area of improvement for me. I want to be a game changer. You know, teams are going to keep throwing at you if you keep getting PBUs, rather if you just take the ball away.”
He’s not short on confidence either.
“Am I the best corner in the class? Just (put) the film on. It speaks for itself,” Delane said.
McCoy would surely have something to say about that. He, too, has all the ideal traits, but he’s missing the film from the past football season.
McCoy tore an ACL in a knee training in January 2025, and the rehab kept him out the past fall season.
“I was out training back at home. I just jumped up for a ball and just landed wrong,” McCoy said at the combine.
McCoy said he’s fine now with “no limits” ahead of the draft.
“I feel good now, ready to play again,” he said. “I got back to training and, I mean, I just felt like myself again.”
McCoy nearly returned for the Volunteers before season’s end. He noted he was cleared by doctors and practiced, but he ultimately didn’t feel like himself late last season.
“I’ve been itching to get back on the field. I was trying to get back and play this year,” McCoy said.
He won’t be working out at the combine but will go through drills at Tennessee’s pro day March 11.
“I just want to make sure I’m putting the best thing out, give me some more training time, to do it all at pro day,” McCoy said. “I’m going to show them at pro day.”
After the top two cornerbacks, McCoy’s teammate at Tennessee, Colton Hood, Clemson’s Avieon Terrell and South Carolina’s Brandon Cisse are among those in the next group.
The Miami Hurricanes’ Keionte Scott and Indiana’s D’Angelo Ponds could be targets for a smaller nickel cornerback.
“I got a lot of love for Miami, so that would be something I would be cool with,” Scott said of if the Dolphins found a way to keep him in South Florida, which could possibly happen on Day 2 of the draft.
Both Scott and Ponds showed remarkable instincts by intercepting screen passes for touchdowns in College Football Playoff games last season.
“It goes back to preparation during the week,” Scott said of what that play says about him as a prospect. “That play is made on Tuesday. All week, we’re seeing that play, seeing the tips and reminders during the game, before the game. That play’s made during the week. … That becomes muscle memory based on practice and time put in during the week.”
The Dolphins have both of their starting cornerbacks from 2025 — Rasul Douglas and Jack Jones — going into free agency. Douglas has ties to Sullivan from Green Bay. Miami will also need to find a solution at nickel and safety. The team can develop second-year cornerback Jason Marshall Jr. and safety Dante Trader among players under contract.
