Jets fans can keep dunking on Dolphins as NFL executives bash Caleb Douglas pick

The New York Jets may have pulled off the most well-received 2026 NFL Draft class in the AFC East, while the rival Miami Dolphins added a huge degree of risk to their incoming class due to some unexpected selections higher up in the order.

The Dolphins did make 13 selections, and they hit some home runs when they nabbed linebacker Jacob Rodriguez in the second and wide receiver Chris Bell in the third round after many projected him as a second-round selection. Wide receiver Caleb Douglas, however, was a bit more confusing.

Douglas, who was widely considered to be a late Day 3 selection, was taken with the No. 75 overall pick in the Draft. This move was so unusual that it prompted ESPN's Seth Walder to ask NFL executives about five players thought by many analysts to be reaches, one of which was Douglas.

Walder asked the execs if the player was considered adequate value, a slight reach, or so unexpected that no one believed they would be selected where they were. All five who were asked said that Douglas was considered a huge reach. Not even Nate Boerkircker or De'Zhaun Stribling got that designation!

Jets fans can keep laughing at Dolphins as Caleb Douglas pick gets ripped by NFL executives

Douglas is a gamble on height, weight, and speed, as the 6-foot-3, 206-pound receiver was timed at 4.39 seconds in the 40-yard dash. Douglas, who was often outshone by college teammate and Arizona Cardinals draftee Reggie Virgil, has to be reminded of the Jets of another fast receiver drafted very high.

The Jets used a fourth-round pick on Georgia burner Arian Smith last season. With minimal production in a terrible receiver room and multiple new additions coming in via the Jets' draft class, it took one year for Smith to already find himself on the outside looking in.

Some reports claim that Miami was going to take Notre Dame wide receiver Malachi Fields before the New York Giants snatched him away at the eleventh hour. New GM Jon-Eric Sullivan may have panicked, using a pick on the next receiver on the board without accounting for value.

The Jets and Dolphins will likely be fighting it out to avoid a last-place AFC East finish in the 2026 season, but the Jets' perceived stronger NFL Draft class may go a long way towards helping them overcome their Florida-based demons from past years.

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