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By Aaron Becker
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The Miami Dolphins are the youngest team in the NFL entering the 2026 season, which may have some believing they will rely on as many veterans as they can this year. However, Dolphins head coach Jeff Hafley recently revealed that will be far from the case.
Hafley confirmed that both third-round rookie wide receivers Caleb Douglas and Chris Bell will be on the field with the first team offense in Week 1.
“We believe those guys deserve to start, and we’re gonna start them,” Hafley said. “We’ll find out what we need to work on, how we need to develop ‘em with winning as a priority.”
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For those paying close attention to the Dolphins all summer, this shouldn't be a complete surprise regarding Douglas since he was already named a starter ahead of the team's first preseason game against the Washington Commanders after turning heads in camp.
“It’s been consistency over time. He’s been really consistent,” Hafley said. “He’s made some flash plays, and then he’s made some plays where he needs to catch the ball, but he’s probably been one of our most consistent guys, and he’s showed up every day. So that’s where he deserves to be at this point.”
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The same can't necessarily be said for Bell, though. He was activated off of the non-football injury list less than a month ago.
However, if it weren't for suffering a torn ACL last November, Bell would have gone much higher than the No. 94 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. He was a first-team All-ACC selection in 2025 after recording a career-high 72 catches for 917 yards and six touchdowns.
Only time will tell how Douglas and Bell will fair at the next level, but the Dolphins don't seem to be interested in wasting anymore time to see what they have in them.
The No. 75 overall pick in this year's draft, Douglas racked up 114 catches for 1,723 yards and 13 touchdowns over the past two years at Texas Tech after starting his collegiate career at Florida (2022-23).
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