How the Dolphins Saved Their Best for Last in Round 3
The Miami Dolphins maybe had a couple of uninspiring selections in the third round, but they absolutely nailed their final pick of Day 2 from this vantage point.
The Dolphins closed out their third-round work by selecting Louisville wide receiver Chris Bell with the 94th overall selection, and he was only available because of the torn ACL he sustained last November.
Bell had a strong chance of being a first-round selection, but not with the uncertainty of exactly when and how much he'd be able to contribute as a rookie.
As a team in transition, the Dolphins realistically have to be more focused on the long term than about the 2026 season, so they were in a position to take Bell and wait a year for him to be at full capacity if that's how long it winds up taking him.
But assuming Bell makes a full recovery, he'd stand right now as probably the top wide receiver on a Dolphins unit that's being rebuilt after the offseason departures of Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle.
Bell is a thick wide receiver listed at 6-1, 222 with good speed once he gets going (though he's not sudden). The ESPN draft telecast compared him to A.J. Brown in terms of play style and the Dolphins gladly would take that (minus the drama).
Again, Bell might not contribute very much in 2026, but the Dolphins aren't making the playoffs with or without big numbers from him.
This pick was made with 2027 and beyond in mind, and it easily was the best one of the third round from where we sit.
THE FIRST TWO PICKS OF ROUND 3
Bell was the second wide receiver taken in this round by Miami, following Caleb Douglas from Texas Tech with the 75th overall selection.
The Dolphins also selected tight end Will Kacmarek with the 87th overall selection with the pick they obtained from the Philadelphia Eagles in the 2025 trade involving Jaelan Phillips.
Whille Kacmarek is considered the best blocking tight end in the draft, it's not often you see teams spending a third-round pick on that kind of player.
As for Douglas, most draft analysts had pegged him as a fourth-round selection at best, if not a fifth-rounder, and he was selected before the Tampa Bay Buccaneers landed another tall wide receiver, Ted Hurst from Georgia State.
Douglas does bring that great size to the Dolphins wide receiver room and can make contested catches, but he struggled with drops last season.
The question for Douglas is whether he'll be able to carve out a significant role on offense, something one would expect from a third-round pick.
That question seems easy to answer with Bell provided there are no hiccups in his recovery.
This was a great value pick, pure and simple.
Today's best reads
- How Malik Washington Is Ready to Take Charge in the WR Room
- Miami Dolphins 2026 Draft Central: Setting the Stage for a Huge Weekend
- Examining a Dolphins-Specific Big Board
- Examining a Dolphins-Specific Day 2 Big Board
- Dolphins Saturday Mailbag: Trying to Make Predictions Off Sullivan Press Conference
Copyright ABG-SI LLC. SPORTS ILLUSTRATED is a registered trademark of ABG-SI LLC. All Rights Reserved.
This story was originally published April 24, 2026 at 11:07 PM.