This offseason, the Miami Dolphins made the difficult decision to release All-Pro wide receiver Tyreek Hill after four years together. Additionally, Miami then traded away former sixth-overall pick Jaylen Waddle in exchange for a first-round pick.
While both moves made sense for Miami, they left the team with a hole at the wide receiver position. Instead of directly addressing that hole by using a high draft pick or a high-priced free agent, the team added several veteran free agents on minimum contracts and used some of their latter selections in the 2026 NFL Draft on wide receiver.
Now, with training camp underway for the Dolphins, one of those draftees has begun to impress and could soon be the one tasked with filling the shoes of Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle.
Miami Dolphins Rookie Wide Receiver Impresses During Training Camp
One of the early takeaways from training camp has been the performance of Miami Dolphins third-round rookie wide receiver Caleb Douglas. ESPN’s Marcel Louis-Jacques posted on X: “Big day for Caleb Douglas — contested catch in traffic over the middle on the first play of team drills, followed it up with a nice back shoulder grab on the sideline from Malik Willis a few plays later. Also scored a touchdown in RZ drills.”
Louis-Jacques was not the only one to point out Douglas’ strong performance as Dolphins on SI’s Alain Poupart noted during his training camp takeaways: “He (Douglas) had himself quite the busy day. Besides the two potential TD catches, he had two other receptions from Willis. The one negative about his play was a drop near the sideline. This was, though, overall a very positive day for him after he was quiet Thursday.”
Douglas was Miami’s first wide receiver selected in the 2026 NFL Draft. Miami then drafted Chris Bell, who is still out with an ACL tear he suffered late in the 2025 season, and Kevin Coleman Jr. in the fifth round.
Caleb Douglas Player Profile
Despite being Miami’s first wide receiver added in the draft, his selection was met with a mixed reaction, as most analysts believed he was a reach in the third round.
NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein wrote of Caleb Douglas: “Douglas is a long, slender outside target with good production but uneven tape. He has enticing moments, showcasing his catch radius/ball skills on fades and deep throws. Douglas’ focus drops and an inability to win contested catches at a high enough rate can’t be overlooked, though. He shows quick acceleration for a tall receiver, but his top-end speed is relatively non-threatening to defenses. Douglas can expect to be crowded by NFL cornerbacks and forced to prove he can uncover. There are flashes to build on, but he’ll have to battle to make a roster as a backup.” Zierlein gave Douglas a fifth- or sixth-round grade.
As a result, Miami’s selection of Douglas was met with a mediocre draft grade by the Athletic’s Scott Dochterman, who gave the team a C-. Scott Dochterman wrote: “This is a reach for Miami. Projected as a sixth-round pick, Douglas (6 feet 3 1/2, 206 pounds) was productive (846 yards receiving) and ran a 4.39 40 time.
But with seven drops last year and oodles of inconsistency, this is boom or bust for a team that needs sure things.”
If Douglas develops into a strong receiver for Miami in 2026, then very few will remember the criticism regarding his selection. However, Douglas’ drop issues should continue to be monitored, as Poupart noted he had one even in his strong day.
Like HEAVY’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on HEAVY
The post Dolphins Rookie WR Emerging as Tyreek Hill Replacement appeared first on HEAVY.