One of Miami's biggest priorities this offseason was to remake the wide receiver room to add a lot of supporting talent around Malachi Toney.
While there were some promising young players, like Joshua Moore, the additions of Cooper Barkate (Duke), Vandrevius Jacobs (South Carolina) and Cam Vaughn (West Virginia) bring nearly 150 catches and over 2,000 yards of production from last season.
👀' Experience Matters' To Miami's Shannon Dawson As Spring Practice Gets Intense
— Eye of the Hurricanes (@CanesCentralSI) March 26, 2026
"Yeah, I mean, experience matters, and experienced guys with experience use their learning curves typically shorter."https://t.co/e1Jq4I55Ka
Offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson was hampered in the passing game at times because of a thin rotation on the outside. That forced Malachi Toney into nearly every wide receiver role at one point or another during each game. This year that shouldn't be an issue, as Dawson pointed out.
"I think at times last year we were probably three guys rotating at two positions...[This year] I think we'll have 5-6 outside receivers that can play," Dawson said, "Which is like huge because those guys run the most because they stretch the field. So you'd like to have more of those guys."
Shannon Dawson looks forward to working with loaded WR roomÂ
These additions could make Toney even more dangerous in 2026 because teams have to account for Barkate, who was a 1,000-yard receiver last year and a natural deep threat like Vaughn or a guy that can work underneath and move the chains like Jacobs. Opposing defensive coordinators will have to make decisions on who they are going to cover because they won't be able to cover everybody,
"We've had situations in the past where we want certain guys in there on third down," Dawson added. "Now I feel like, and I hope, we have a handful of guys that we don't care who's in the game."
Not only are the Hurricanes deep at the position with talent and production, but Dawson points out that there are different body types to work with. Big, long receivers like the 6-foot-4 Moore and faster, quick-twitch guys that can get open underneath and make big players. It all means that there will be a lot of meetings in the end zone this fall.