The Miami Dolphins’ first official depth chart ahead of Week 1 against the Las Vegas Raiders came with two rookie twists that stand out immediately: Chris Bell is listed as a starting wide receiver, and Kyle Louis has shifted into the safety mix.
That kind of move fits the bigger picture in Miami. The Dolphins are the NFL’s youngest roster, and that’s no accident.
It’s part reset, part roster-building philosophy, with the front office having already taken the hit of moving on from underperforming veterans. New general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan brings that mindset with him from Green Bay, where the Packers consistently leaned young over the last five years, ranking sixth, first, first, first and 13th in roster youth.
The one dip came when Aaron Rodgers was still there, which skewed the average.
Bell’s rise is the more eye-catching of the two. He tore his ACL in his final college game on November 22, 2025, then ended up on Miami’s first depth chart as a starting receiver just a little more than nine months later.
That’s a rapid climb, especially considering he missed roughly the first month of training camp while rehabbing. Caleb Douglas, another third-round rookie, was able to build his case without missing a practice, while Bell had to fight his way back.
The fact that he pushed past veteran Jalen Tolbert in a little over two weeks says plenty about Bell - and maybe just as much about Miami’s receiver room.
There’s still a real question hanging over that decision: is Bell simply that ready, or are the Dolphins that thin at wideout? The source of the answer may be some combination of both. Either way, a player with so little NFL practice time is now in position to handle a major workload when the season opens.
Louis’ situation is different, but just as telling. Miami had already listed Ronnie Harrison Jr., Willie Gay Jr. and Jackson Woodard as linebacker depth, which made the rookie’s spot feel crowded.
Jordyn Brooks and Jacob Rodriguez were already lined up for the main jobs, so the placement of Louis looked a little odd at first. Now the puzzle makes sense: Louis is listed with fellow rookie Michael Taaffe as the top two backups at safety.
That switch isn’t hard to understand. Louis was productive at Pitt, but his frame raised questions at linebacker.
At 6'0" and 225 pounds, he may be a little light to bang with offensive linemen in the box. Safety gives him a cleaner fit, and he’s not being asked to learn coverage from scratch.
According to Pro Football Focus, he played 244 of his 668 snaps in 2025 at slot.
For a team carrying more than $180 million in cap dollars tied to players no longer on the roster, these kinds of depth chart changes are part of the process. Under Sullivan, they also look like the new normal in Miami. The Dolphins are betting on youth, and for now, that means rookies are getting thrown into the fire early.
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