Read the full transcript from WR Chris Bell's media availability on April 25, 2026.
(First, let's get the update. How is the ACL recovery coming along? I saw a video that you're already running 18 miles per hour.) – "Yeah, it's coming along pretty well. I'm four and a half months out of surgery right now. Just kind of trying to keep pushing and getting it stronger so I can be prepared for this upcoming season."
(Now what do you think of your new home venue being Hard Rock Stadium, where you had a huge game just last season with Louisville?) – "It's crazy. I've been saying it all this pre-draft stuff like, 'What if I go to Miami? What if I go to Miami?' And it happened, so it's crazy. It's a blessing, though. It's God. God."
(Tell me about the injury and whether it was deflating or whether you just kind of took it in stride.) – "It was frustrating at first when it first happened because I never had a major injury like this, but I feel like God put this injury in my life for a reason. I know it had me frustrated last night, just knowing that I felt like I was better than some of the guys that went off the board, but it was all God's plan. I'm just blessed to be in a good position – no matter if it was first or seventh round. I'm here and I'm willing to give my all, so I'm ready."
(I've seen you play a few times and you're a big receiver, physical, good hands, good speed. But you describe your game to me and you tell me what you do well, in your opinion.) – "I would say I'm an all-around receiver. A lot of people say they were concerned about my route running, but if you go look at me running routes at pro days or some of my film, I run great routes. I feel like I do great with the ball in my hands and run after the catch. I'm a great run after the catch player. I feel like I'm physical, a lot of DBs can't deal with a big guy like me. There's a lot of things that I bring to the table."
(I remember at the Combine, you mentioned a couple of receivers that you like to watch, like WR Deebo Samuel, WR A.J. Brown, WR DK Metcalf – those guys all got pretty big muscles. How are you able to leverage your physical strength? How do you think that helps you?) – "I feel like it helped me a lot in my game. How do I leverage it? I work out and just try to stay on top of my workouts, so yeah."
(What's the workout or exercise that you think you're most impressive at? Like, what do your teammates go, "Man, that's pretty good.") – "I would say before I got hurt, I would say my back squat. I was pretty good at that and I squatted a lot. I don't want to put a number on it, but I was good at power cleaning I would say and benching too. I was just kind of doing the Louisville staff's workout."
(I wanted to first start by asking about the call and the moment you found out you were going to the NFL. Just talk about the emotions that you felt last night when you got the call?) – "Man, it was so many emotions. Just seeing me drop down the board, it hurt. But I know I play better with a chip on my shoulder, so God did that for a reason. What happened when I got that phone call, it was a crazy moment. It felt unreal. My phone was ringing and I had it face down, and one of my friends was like, 'Somebody is calling your phone,' and I thought it was a joke. And then I answered the phone and I heard the GM (Jon-Eric Sullivan) talking and it was just emotional just to see me get drafted. I'm from Yazoo City, it's a small town. Not a lot of people come out of there, so for me to be one of the guys that came out of, it's special. A special moment for me."
(You talked about your route running and the way you felt you produced in that area. I was reading about you that your drop number increased every year at Louisville. Your route tree increased there. How would you describe your growth and your improvement during your time there at Louisville?) – "I would say I feel like it was pretty good. Just to be at Louisville for four years and keep growing as a player and as a person, I know it took a lot for me to become the person I am and the player I am. But those Louisville coaches and the staff really shaped me into who I am."
(I wanted to ask about something you just mentioned. You said that obviously you stayed at Louisville for four years. Obviously that's rare in today's college football world. I'm curious what led to you staying there for all four years?) – "I would say Pete Nochta, he was a recruiting coordinator on the staff when I came in. He just told me that he was going to take me under his wing, he was going to take care of me and I'm going to have a great career at Louisville. He told me I'd be in this position today, so I took that when I was in high school and I said, 'I feel like I could trust this guy.' Everything that he said was true, and I just felt like Louisville kind of knew me as a player and knew how to make me better. As you can see, I got better each and every year. Those guys shaped me into who I am. I feel like they shaped me into a man."
(The Dolphins have a big need at receiver. I know you're excited just to be drafted regardless of where it would be, but kind of talk to me a little bit about the opportunity to be able to contribute almost from Day 1 or whenever you get healthy.) – "It's a blessing. Just to be in this position is a blessing, man. That's all I can say."
(I wanted to ask you about your wide receivers coach, Deion Branch. Obviously a guy that had a lot of success in the league, and I was curious what some of the things were that maybe you learned from him about playing wide receiver?) – "I would say what I learned is, first off, just how to be a pro and how to carry myself on and off the field. I feel like he played a big part of me growing into this mature person that I am now. He said I had the on-the-field things, it was just the things that I could be better at like building a routine, or my eating habits and things like that when I was at Louisville. Obviously, I learned so much. I put so much into my game just off having him for one season, it made my game elevate so much more. It was a blessing to have Deion Branch, and when I found out he was going to be my coach my senior year, that's all I needed to know to stay."
(How different was that relationship when he was director of player development versus when he came over and coached you for wide receivers?) – "Yeah, so Deion (Branch) has always been like an 'Unc' on the staff. It was just more so we could connect more, we spent more time and stuff like that together. We always had that uncle and nephew relationship, but it's just that when he became my position coach, we spent more time together."
(I wanted to ask you about your big day against Miami here at Hard Rock Stadium. What was clicking for you that day, and how much of a factor do you think it was in the Dolphins drafting you? Did they bring it up in their discussions with you?) – "Yeah, they talked about the Miami game when I was at the Combine. What was clicking for me, they were No. 2 in college football around the time. I feel like that's just something that I like to go up against. We were ranked low and I just wanted to prove to everybody that I am who I say I am. I just wanted to shock the world and that's what we did as a team. I just felt like I had my guys behind me and things like that, so there was a clicking."
(You talked about being a receiver that kind of feels like he was overlooked in the process because of obviously the injury. I know Amon-Ra St. Brown I believe has like the list of receivers taken before him. I'm curious, are you going to go to that extreme? How do you plan to stay motivated knowing that like you probably should have been drafted higher?) – "I've been having this ranking on the front of my home screen since this pre-draft started. It's going to be in my mind. I'm going to write that on my mirror and every day I wake up, I'm going to see it. I'm going to tell myself, 'This is how many guys they took before you. This is how long it took you to get drafted.' I'm going to show everybody and I'm going to prove to everybody, like I said, I am who I say I am."
(You said you have what on your home screen?) – "It's like a college ranking of all the receivers. I'm kind of at the bottom of the list, and I feel like that's my motivation every day I wake up in the morning."
