Miami Dolphins' rookie WR trio could make history Week 1 vs. Raiders - Dolphins Wire
When the Miami Dolphins take the field on Sunday against the Las Vegas Raiders, a trio of first-year players have the potential to collectively make NFL history. Three of Miami’s 13 selections from the 2026 NFL Draft were wide receivers Caleb Douglas, Chris Bell and Kevin Coleman Jr.
Douglas was Miami’s first receiver taken during this past April’s draft when the Dolphins used pick No. 75 on the Texas Tech product. Bell from Louisville was selected with pick No. 94, and Coleman Jr. with pick No. 177 out of Missouri.
While a rare occurrence in any team class, there have been several instances where three receivers were selected by one team in a single draft. In fact, the Dolphins last tripled up at the position in 1975 with Freddie Solomon, Morris Owens and Leonard Isabell.
What has never happened before in league history is three drafted receivers each recording a reception during Week 1 of their rookie season. Douglas, Bell and Coleman could be that lone trio come Sunday. There have been a few close hits, but in the dozen or so cases, Miami’s young trio could break the ice.
For Miami in 1975, none of these three recorded a catch back in Week 1 when they lost to the Oakland Raiders. Back in 2014, the Jacksonville Jaguars had three wideouts haul in a catch during Week 1 as rookies, but only two were actual draft selections.
Marqise Lee was pick No. 39 and caught six passes to open the season. Allen Robinson, pick No. 61, made a single catch, and the undrafted Allen Hurns reeled in four catches in a loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. Adding a fun bit of irony to this, Hurns spent a season in Miami in 2019, and during that 2014 game, those two touchdown passes came from another former Dolphin, quarterback Chad Henne.
Prior to the Dolphins’ 2026 class, a pair of NFL teams in 2020 were the last times three receivers were drafted in one season: the Denver Broncos and Philadelphia Eagles. The Broncos took Jerry Jeudy (No. 15), K.J. Hamler (No. 46) and Tyrie Cleveland (No. 252), while the Eagles selected Jalen Reagor (No. 21), John Hightower (No. 168) and Quez Watkins (No. 200).
A year before, the 2019 draft saw another pair of teams with a trifecta at the position selected with D.K. Metcalf (No. 64), Gary Jennings Jr. (No. 120) and John Ursua (No. 236) going to the Seattle Seahawks, and the Arizona Cardinals taking the trio of Andy Isabella (No. 62), Hakeem Butler (No. 103) and KeeSean Johnson (No. 174).
In yet another dip into irony, prior to 2019, the last time three wide receivers were drafted to one team's class was in 2014 in Green Bay, while current Miami general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan was a scout for the Packers, as Davante Adams (No. 53), Jared Abbrederis (No. 176) and Jeff Janis (No. 236) had their names called during that selection process.
There were at least seven other three-receiver classes before 2019, yet like the others leading up to 2026, there has never been a three-for-three instance, although a pair of rookie selections did make a catch in a few situations.
What makes this more interesting for the Dolphins is that a few months ago, there was no certainty that Bell would even be available for Week 1 due to his 2025 ACL injury. Showing remarkable determination and work ethic to come back within 10 months, Bell will be on the field Sunday and isn't expected to be on a pitch count, as head coach Jeff Hafley told the media.
In a season that's widely considered a rebuilding one for the Dolphins, Sullivan and Hafley hope their young triplets at receiver could be core pieces for both the future as well as immediate impact players to kick off their tenures. What better way to do so than by making history, which could hopefully come with a win in Las Vegas against a team that held 2025’s worst record in the Raiders.
