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The Miami Dolphins added a wide receiver after the draft

The Miami Dolphins underwent a roster reconstruction this offseason, and after the 2026 NFL Draft, which saw the team add 13 players, the outlook of the team looks vastly different than it did a few months ago. 

Following the 2025 season, it had become clear that the Dolphins had an expensive, aging roster that, after missing the postseason in back-to-back seasons, was not worth continuing to invest in. As a result, the Dolphins parted ways with most of their high-priced players and opted for a youth movement centered around the NFL Draft.

Miami’s lone free agent investment was in the quarterback position, as they signed Malik Willis to a three-year, $67 million contract. Some argued against the signing of Willis as they viewed the move as setting the quarterback up for failure, due to the lack of weapons after releasing Tyreek Hill and trading Jaylen Waddle. However, the team hopes to have done enough to address the position during the NFL Draft and with some additional free agent signings.

Miami Dolphins Sign Wide Receiver

Following the draft, the Miami Dolphins signed undrafted free agent wide receiver Donaven McCulley out of Michigan. 

McCulley finished his college football career with 1,422 receiving yards. Prior to his senior season at Michigan, McCulley spent four years at Indiana where he appeared in 35 games.

Prior to the draft, SB Nation’s Andrew Bailey believed McCulley would be selected on Day 3 of the draft due to his upside. Bailey wrote: 

“McCulley is nothing if not oozing with untapped potential. At nearly 6-foot-5, McCulley has a skill that you can’t teach or develop — size. Coaches want their wide receiver room to look like a basketball team, and the vision for McCulley to play as a rangy, above-the-rim power forward is easy to see. With strong hands and an ability to either settle into space or box out defenders, the former quarterback knows how to make himself available and bring home any ball in his vicinity.

He has numerous deficiencies in his game, but the majority can be viewed as pre-catch developmental issues that stem from inexperience and coaching failures. McCulley will be knocked for top-end speed, but if he can improve his route-running and pace distribution, those details will overcome any perceived weakness as a vertical threat.”

Miami Dolphins Wide Receivers

McCulley is another example of the Dolphins adding size to the wide receiver room. Aside from signing McCulley as an unrestricted free agent, the team invested three draft picks in receivers as they selected Caleb Douglas and Chris Bell in the third round, then Kevin Coleman Jr. in the fifth. Bell and Douglas fit the mold of big receivers as Douglas is 6-foot-3 while Bell is 6-foot-2.

Bell is likely the most intriguing addition in that group, as some believe he would have been a late first-round pick had he not suffered a torn ACL late in the 2025 season. 

Regarding Bell, Bleacher Report’s Damion Parsons wrote:

“Chris Bell is a physically imposing and explosive, vertical matchup wide receiver prospect. He’s an outstanding height, weight and speed receiver for NFL teams to bet on.

Bell puts defenses in conflict after the catch. He is built as an outside receiver but brings usage and alignment versatility to an offense.”