The Miami Dolphins came into camp looking thin at receiver, with new starting quarterback Malik Willis surrounded by a group that hadn’t proven much in NFL games. On paper, that’s a shaky setup. But the early returns from the rookies GM Jon-Eric Sullivan added to the room suggest this might not stay a weakness for long.
Three first-year wideouts have already made their mark, each in a different way. Kevin Coleman Jr. has been the early surprise, Chris Bell looks like he’s powering through ACL rehab faster than expected, and Caleb Douglas is making people rethink where he should have gone in the draft.
Coleman’s rise has been the loudest so far. He opened camp working with the first team and even found himself battling Malik Washington for the starting slot job, with plenty of people around the team believing he could win it.
One report on him was especially strong: "Early in camp, Coleman has looked like an absolute steal and someone who should’ve been selected much higher. Taking reps with the first team during the Dolphins’ opening practices, Coleman is battling Malik Washington to be the starting slot receiver, and many think he will win.
[...] Coleman has made a great impression on everyone in the Dolphins organization and is just a different, special type of person.
[...] Sources in Miami tell me that Coleman has been the biggest surprise in camp thus far.
Sources close to the receiver tell me he couldn’t be happier with the Dolphins and has been loving the experience."
That kind of praise is hard to miss, especially for the 27th receiver drafted and the 177th player taken overall. Coleman was also dealing with an injury that kept him out of practice for about two weeks, but he returned healthy and flashed in the preseason with an acrobatic downfield catch in Miami’s 26-3 loss to the New York Giants. He’s already second to Malik Washington on punt return duties on the latest depth chart, and if he can keep winning in the slot and on contested balls, he looks capable of helping right away.
Bell’s trajectory may be even more intriguing. Back in June, longtime Dolphins beat writer Omar Kelly said Bell would have a redshirt season, but that idea has already been knocked around by what Bell has shown in camp. He’s been working with Willis and Quinn Ewers, and on Tuesday, Miami content man Travis Wingfield highlighted several strong reps.
"One of my favorite reps of the day was a Chris Bell one on one rep where Miles Battle tried to re-route him off the red line. But Bell is so strong that he can run through it, hold the line and keep the press attempts at bay with his own hand fighting. Bell caught a 3rd down ball from Willis for a first down beating a blitz, and caught one for about 15 from Ewers winning on an in-cut."
At 6-foot-2 and 220 pounds, Bell brings size, quickness, and explosive movement skills, and his final two seasons at Louisville were productive: 115 catches for 1,654 yards and 10 touchdowns. Before the ACL injury, he had first-round buzz.
Instead, he slid to No. 94, and the Dolphins were able to take advantage of their draft capital and need at receiver. Among this trio, Bell still has the highest ceiling.
Douglas, the highest-drafted of the three at No. 75 overall, has also answered some of the skepticism that followed him into the league. He drew plenty of criticism as a possible reach, but he’s already giving Miami reasons to believe the pick was worthwhile. In the preseason opener against the Commanders, he immediately made an impact on a long pass from Willis.
"What a way to start the game 🤯 @malikwillis ➡️ @Caedeezy pic.twitter.com/Uane3p5fyy"
Douglas is listed at 6-foot-3 1/2 and ran a 4.39 40, and the early evidence says the ball skills are real. Omar Kelly even called him the team’s top offensive standout at camp: "Caleb Douglas has been the top offensive standout at Dolphins camp. He’s the real 7-Eleven, always opens.
I honestly have no clue why he’s always open. Gonna be studying him moving forward because he’s an NFL starter."
That’s a strong early endorsement for a rookie who arrived under a cloud of draft-day doubt.
Miami still has plenty to prove, and the wide receiver room is far from finished product status. But with Coleman flashing, Bell returning with force, and Douglas already creating separation, the Dolphins may be finding out sooner than expected that this group has more juice than anyone gave it credit for. And if Willis can approach the level he flashed in limited chances in Green Bay, Miami’s offense might be headed somewhere very interesting.
In Other News...
Dolphins End Camp With Roster Battles And New Injury Questions
The Dolphins wrapped training camp with an indoor practice centered on red zone work and late-game situations, the kind of session that often says as much about the roster as the plays themselves. Several players made their presence felt, including Malik Willis, Malik Washington and rookie Caleb Douglas, while head coach Jeff Hafley used the day to provide a final round of injury updates as Miami turned the page from camp routines to roster decisions.
Even with camp in the books, there are still plenty of moving parts for Miami to sort through. Some players were back on the field after injury, others were still limited or unavailable, and that mix keeps the depth chart fluid heading into the next phase of the preseason calendar. For a team that has spent the summer sorting out competition at multiple spots, the last practice offered a useful snapshot, but not a final answer. [Read more 🡒]
Dolphins Could Pull Off A Franchise Reset Without Losing A Blue-Chip Weapon
The idea of a Dolphins reset with a safety net attached is the kind of offseason-or-beyond speculation that gets attention quickly, and ESPN draft analyst Jordan Reid has floated a particularly intriguing version of it. In his 2027 mock draft, Miami would move down from the No. 1 overall pick to Cleveland, stockpile multiple picks in the process, and still come away with wide receiver Jeremiah Smith from Ohio State, giving the front office a chance to reshape the roster without walking away empty-handed.
On paper, it is the rare trade-down scenario that still leaves the Dolphins with a premium offensive weapon at the top of the draft. Reids proposal has the Browns sending their first-round picks, a fourth-round pick and a future second-rounder to Miami, which would make the haul significant even before the Dolphins turn around and make their own selection. It is all speculative for now, but the framework raises the exact kind of question teams hope to answer when a franchise reset is on the table: how much can you gain while still landing the player who changes your outlook? [Read more 🡒]
Malik Willis Just Put Dolphins Offensive Struggles Front And Center
Training camp has already shown why the Dolphins are still searching for offensive rhythm, and Malik Willis added a small but telling moment to that picture during a recent practice. After a rough start, the quarterback stopped the offense to pull everyone back together, a sign of how quickly the unit has had to confront its own uneven execution.
Bobby Slowik has already acknowledged the problems, pointing to the pass protection and pass catching issues that have surfaced in preseason action. With Jeff Hafley suggesting the starters may play against the Atlanta Falcons, the next chance to clean things up could come soon, but the bigger question remains whether Miami can turn those reset moments into something more reliable when it counts. [Read more 🡒]