Jeff Hafley explains why Dolphins rookie is atop the depth chart

The Miami Dolphins gutted their roster this offseason, which included their wide receiver room, as they traded Jaylen Waddle to the Denver Broncos, cut Tyreek Hill and Nick Westbrook-Ikhine and let Cedrick Wilson Jr. and D'Wayne Eskridge hit the market. To fill in those holes, the Dolphins added several wideouts, including a trio of veterans in free agency. On top of that, they took three more in the 2026 NFL draft, which started with Caleb Douglas in the third round. Coming out of Texas Tech, there wasn't much buzz surrounding Douglas when Miami made the pick, but earlier this week, the Dolphins put him as their top wide receiver on the depth chart. Why did they make that decision? Head coach Jeff Hafley explained on Wednesday. "It goes back to what I've been talking to you guys about. It's been consistency over time," Hafley said. "He's been really consistent. He's made some flash plays and then he's made some plays where he needs to catch the ball, but he's probably been one of our most consistent guys. He showed up every day. So that's where he deserves to be at this point." By all accounts, Douglas has been a real difference-maker on the practice fields this summer. When Malik Willis needs a completion, he's looking for the rookie, which is a great sign early in a wide receiver's career. However, Hafley also wanted to make sure that everyone knows that this is just a starting point for everyone. "As far as the depth chart goes, I mean, it's not like when I sit there and I'm watching film, I'm going, ‘he should be here. He should be here.’ It's a start," Hafley said. "And I told the team the same exact thing because I want to be transparent with them. I want to be transparent with you. If anybody's going to get worked up about where they are in the depth chart right now, come and talk to me because I could probably explain to you, and let's worry about that three weeks from now." While that may be true, Douglas is off to a great start, and if he can continue this trend through the preseason, he could set himself up to be Willis' go-to target throughout his rookie year. This article originally appeared on Dolphins Wire: Jeff Hafley explains why Dolphins rookie is atop the depth chart