Position Battles to Look Out for During the 2026 Miami Dolphins Preseason
We’re just under a week away from the start of the preseason for the Miami Dolphins when they head to Washington, D.C. to face the Commanders. There are plenty of spots for Miami that are already secured, like De’Von Achane and Malik Willis, but there are still some position battles across the field as well. While some are more obvious than others, like the wide receiver room, some under-the-radar battles are worth keeping your eye on during the preseason games and joint practices. Let’s go ahead and dive into some of those battles and who could earn themselves a name or a spot on the roster.
Could the Dolphins Rely on Rookie Wide Receivers this Season?
Since they’ve been mentioned already, we’ll start with the wide receiver room. After a strong start to the preseason in OTAs, it seems like Kevin Coleman Jr. has quickly become an afterthought for a potential starting role on the offense. There’s been little to no update on his progression across most media outlets, plus there’s been a lack of noteworthy plays throughout the start of camp. Not to say that there was an immediate expectation that the former Missouri Tiger would find the field in a meaningful capacity this season, but the hype gained during OTAs and rookie minicamp has been completely erased.
On the flip side of things, I don’t think anyone has made a bigger name for himself in the wide receiver room than Caleb Douglas. He’s made plays left and right throughout training camp alongside his former Texas Tech rookie Jacob Rodriguez, and has become a go-to target for Willis. For Douglas, it was never a question of talent, since he came into Dolphins training camp at six-foot-four with a 4.39 40-yard-dash from the 2026 Scouting Combine. It was more a matter of putting it all together on an every-down basis, and it seems like the rookie has settled in nicely so far.
The last rookie I’ll talk about has yet to see the field in practice for Miami, but we could still see him in the preseason: third-round rookie Chris Bell. There’s been video of the Louisville product working individually throughout practices, which is a good sign. Head coach Jeff Hafley didn’t say whether Bell would start in the preseason yet, but did mention how beneficial it would be for the former Cardinal to get onto the field in the preseason before making his NFL debut in the regular season. The 22-year-old has always been an interesting prospect coming into the 2026 NFL Draft, projected as a potential first-round pick before suffering a torn ACL on November 22nd against SMU. It generally takes about nine to 12 months to come back from a torn ACL, which for Bell would mean the latest date he could come back hypothetically would be on the road against the Buffalo Bills on November 22nd.
A Changing of the Guard at Linebacker
It’ll be a common theme throughout these evaluations: rookies taking over for veterans. The next stop takes us over to the linebacker room between Tyrel Dodson and Rodriguez. Just like his Texas Tech counterpart that we just got done talking about, Rodriguez has been a playmaker just like he was at Tech, forcing multiple turnovers throughout camp so far. This isn’t to say that Dodson has been bad, just not as noticeable as the rookie. I do think that’s more based on who Rodriguez is and his influence from the Red Raiders’ run to the College Football Playoffs, but his play on the field has backed up everything he showed in college. With both guys wearing the green dot and calling plays in for the defense, plus the draft capital used on the 23-year-old, it wouldn’t surprise me at all to see the rookie racking up tackles and turnovers earlier than expected, potentially before the first month of the season ends.
A Security Plan at Right Tackle
After missing some practice earlier in the week, right tackle Austin Jackson made his return for the Dolphins scrimmage at Hard Rock Stadium. That being said, Jackson being hurt is not new news to Dolphins fans. Since being drafted in the first round in 2020, the USC product has only played 16 games in a season twice. He’s missed multiple games in a season every other year due to injury, including missing 11 games last season. Last year, it was Larry Borom who took over for Jackson and played somewhat decently in his absence. Charlie Heck, who replaced the California native during his quick stint away from the practice field, looked pretty awful to be completely honest. He was constantly beaten by Chop Robinson off the edge, alongside a pitiful showing throughout his one-on-one outings against defensive linemen. Outside of Heck, it’ll become another revolving door of veteran signings to try and replace the offensive tackle, or we could see first-round rookie Kadyn Proctor kick out to right tackle. Unfortunately, the fact that this has become a recurring theme when talking about Jackson has become tiring at this point, yet necessary.
