Caleb Douglas didn’t wait long to quiet the noise around his selection.
After the Miami Dolphins took him in the third round of the NFL Draft, the pick drew plenty of criticism. But one game into his pro career, Douglas is already forcing a different conversation. In his NFL debut on Sunday, he caught five passes for 94 yards, and that performance earned him a nomination on Tuesday for the NFL’s Pepsi Rookie of the Week.
Douglas was one of the more consistent standouts throughout training camp, and that carried over right into the opener. He kept showing up during the offseason, and Miami general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan held firm on the reasoning behind taking the receiver. Sullivan also comes from a family with a strong track record evaluating receivers, and that background is starting to look pretty useful.
The Dolphins also got a contribution from another third-round receiver in Chris Bell. Bell was targeted just twice, but he made one catch for 25 yards.
Douglas still has plenty to prove before anyone starts labeling him a steal, but there’s no debate about how he looked in Week 1. His route running was near perfect, his hands were good, and the expectation is that they’ll keep improving.
A Rookie of the Week win doesn’t seem especially likely for Douglas, though. Tampa Bay’s Josiah Trotter turned in a huge game against the Bengals despite the Buccaneers’ loss, and he outplayed first-round pick Rueben Bain Jr.
Anthony Hill Jr. also posted massive tackle numbers. Jacob Rodriguez’s 14 tackles stood out too, but the award race appears to be shaping up around Trotter and Hill.
Even if Douglas doesn’t take home the honor, the nomination alone is a nice bit of vindication after the criticism that followed his draft night. More importantly for Miami, he and Bell are already making people rethink the Dolphins’ wide receiver room.
That was a major question entering the season, but after one game, the early returns are encouraging. It’s only one week, and the next four will be tougher, but Douglas, Bell, Rodriguez, Michael Taaffe, and Kadyn Proctor are all giving the impression that Miami made solid choices.
In Other News...
Jaylen Waddle's Broncos Debut Just Fueled A Dolphins Trade Debate
Jaylen Waddles first game in a Broncos uniform came on Monday Night Football, and for Dolphins fans still tracking the move, it was impossible not to notice how quiet it was. Denver acquired Waddle from Miami for a first-round pick, then watched him finish with one catch for two yards on three targets while the Chiefs kept him largely under wraps.
For Miami, the deal only sharpens the debate because the Dolphins used that pick on Chris Johnson, giving the trade a very immediate point of comparison. Waddles limited involvement in his Denver debut does not settle the argument, but it does give both sides fresh ammunition as the early returns on the swap start to take shape. [Read more 🡒]
Dolphins Owner Just Landed In Rare Company Among NFL Billionaires
The latest Forbes 400 list offered a fresh reminder of just how much financial firepower sits behind some NFL franchises, and Stephen Ross remains one of the leagues most prominent owners in that company. The Dolphins owner checked in at 56th with a net worth of $21.5 billion, while Miami itself was valued at $7.5 billion, underscoring how far the franchise has climbed in league business circles.
Ross is hardly alone among NFL owners on the annual ranking, with familiar heavyweights like Rob Walton, David Tepper, Stanley Kroenke, Jerry Jones and Robert Kraft also making the cut. For Miami, the bigger takeaway is less about the leaderboard itself and more about what that kind of ownership profile can mean in a league where resources, ambition and expectations are often linked long before the first snap is taken. [Read more 🡒]
Dolphins Rookie Corner Already Faces Pressure After Rough First Impression
Chris Johnsons first NFL outing was the kind rookies remember for all the wrong reasons, and the Dolphins are already living with the early lesson. The first-year corner was targeted often and had a rough debut, allowing two touchdowns and six catches on 11 targets, a reminder of how quickly the league can expose hesitation in the secondary. Miami has asked him to handle more than one spot back there, which only adds to the challenge as he tries to settle in.
Coach Jeff Hafley said Johnson needs to clean up the details, but he also praised the way the rookie has approached the setback. Teammate Dante Trader has tried to keep the message simple: take the game, learn from it and move on. The next stretch will show how quickly Johnson can respond, with more tests coming against a run of opponents that will keep him under the microscope. [Read more 🡒]