How the Addition of Chris Bell Impacts the Dolphins WR Corps

The Miami Dolphins revealed some exciting news Monday, as rookie wide receiver Chris Bell, who tore his ACL last November, was removed from the non-football injury list. Bell has begun practicing with the team, and his return to form potentially would change the landscape of Miami’s receiving corps and offensive ecosystem as a whole.

Bell, who played four seasons at Louisville, profiles immediately as a threat with the ball in his hands. At 222 pounds, his weight is in the 91st percentile among wide receivers, per MockDraftable. He parlays that mass with excellent breakaway speed to break tackles in the open field.

Bell doesn’t have the most refined route tree, running mostly underneath and stop routes combined with the occasional go or post. His immediate impact on this team is seemingly as a Deebo Samuel-esque X-receiver with plenty of explosive potential, and more than enough ball tracking and acceleration to run under Malik Willis’ deep passes.

Chris Bell's Impact in Miami

Bell’s ability to eat up plenty of space in a hurry as a de facto X-receiver could potentially slot Caleb Douglas and Malik Washington into more natural roles in three wide-receiver sets as the deep-threat Z and slot receiver, respectively. Furthermore, his talent as a blocker, which he displayed several times on tape, could enable Miami to trot out more of those looks (they only ran two plays with three receivers on the opening drive of their preseason game Friday night).

Bell's ability on designed touches, such as screens and end-arounds, also potentially takes some of the weight off the shoulders of De’Von Achane, both in terms of work load and defensive attention.

With the return of Bell, Miami’s receiver room seems to be rounding out. However, it’s important to evaluate whether this group can lead to sustainable offensive production. Bell, Douglas, and Washington, all locks to make the roster, each provide different elements. However, what they, and the rest of the roster bubble players lack, is consistent reliability.

Bell and Douglas are rookies, and Malik Washington only has 72 career receptions. Miami will, aside from a potential outside move, have to rely on the connection Malik Willis has built with the latter two rather than on proven consistency.

Rounding Out the WR Room

The bottom of this room, naturally, presents even more questions, including who’s even making this roster. Fifth-round rookie Kevin Coleman, a shifty, undersized player with toughness going over the middle, should be a lock. Outside of that, though, it gets shaky.

With NFL teams typically carrying five or six receivers, the leaders in the clubhouse for the final one or two spots are some combination of Theo Wease Jr., A.J. Henning, Jalen Tolbert, Tutu Atwell, and Jalen Reagor.

Henning has flashed at times throughout camp, and going into his second season, there’s reason to believe there’s more to untap there, as opposed to the veterans. However, players like Tolbert, Atwell and Reagor bring experience, with Reagor also playing on both of the aforementioned plays Miami ran with three receivers on their opening drive.

That group certainly could use some outside help, but with Keenan Allen signing in Indianapolis, the names are bleak and might be worth waiting until cutdown day to revisit.

Youth is going to make up the bulk of Miami’s receiving corps, and with Bell’s return, there’s yet another player with the potential to become a key contributor. How this room shakes out remains to be seen, but Bell’s addition to it is certainly a much-needed one.

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