The Miami Dolphins don’t have Caleb Douglas to rely on in Week 4. He remains out with an injury.
That makes maybe their most important receiver another third-round rookie, Chris Bell.
Yes, Malik Washington and Kevin Coleman Jr. are in the picture.
But it’s Bell who has the big-play ability. If the Dolphins want to stretch the opposing defense, it’s likely through Bell.
The Dolphins have a tough matchup on Sunday, playing in Minnesota against fierce defensive coordinator Brian Flores.
It may not be an easy day for Bell, and he got off to a slow start with no catches through most of the first quarter.
Why Isn’t Chris Bell Doing Anything?
Chris Bell has a couple of factors working against his involvement in Sunday’s game.
The matchup with the aforementioned Flores is going to make it tough for the Dolphins to move the ball at all, so that’s a tough place to start from.
Then add in the fact that Malik Willis has yet to really find his footing as Miami’s quarterback, and it gets tougher.
Willis has also spread the ball around a lot in the early going, so there usually won’t be one big game among the pass-catching group.
There are even more unknowns with De’Von Achane now out for the season with a torn ACL.
Bell should still have some big plays as the season goes along, but his consistency may not be too high.
Update: Bell caught a long TD on Sunday, but it was called back because Bell had gone out of bounds without pressure so he was called on a penalty for illegal touching.
Dolphins’ Pass-Catching Stats
The slow start for Bell in Week 4 included no catches on one target through the first quarter in Minnesota.
Willis had targeted two players twice. Kevin Coleman Jr. had two targets and caught one of them for three yards. Ollie Gordon II had two targets and caught both, but had totaled zero yards.
Willis also connected once with Malik Washington on a 15-yard completion.
And the rookie tight end Will Macmarek had one catch for 15 yards in the first quarter.
The Dolphins could also get RB Jaylen Wright and TE Greg Dulcich involved in the passing action.
It’s not the most exciting group, to be sure, but it’s who the Dolphins have right now.
Bell is going to have to keep trying to stretch the field and hope that Willis eventually looks his way and connects on a big play.
Otherwise, Miami is going to struggle to put much long-distance pressure on opposing defenses.
Against Flores’ pressure-oriented scheme, there could be space, if Willis and Bell can align on finding it at the same time.
Why Chris Bell Isn’t Catching Passes for Dolphins vs. Vikings