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Fantasy Football drafts will be taking place all over the country this weekend, and for Dolphins fans, this year represents an opportunity that hasn’t been available to our fan-base in quite a number of years. If you’re looking to load up on Miami Dolphins, you’re in luck, because this season, there are a large number of Fins players who are going to be serviceable for your squad, and are therefore draft-able in your league. Who should you target? What round represents good value for each player? Let’s dig into the ESPN Fantasy rankings and find out!
All of these rankings are in PPR (points per reception) format.
Myles Gaskin – RB 25 - 54th Overall
ESPN has Myles Gaskin ranked as a mid 4th round selection in 12-team leagues. Generally regarded as the Dolphins’ lead running back, Fins fans began to wonder if Salvon Ahmed would eat into Gaskin’s playing time due to a handful of quality practices this offseason. Gaskin has temporarily muffled some of that chatter after a stellar performance in the Fins’ second preseason game against Atlanta. Gaskin finished the contest with 6 rushes for 27 yards and a TD, while adding 4 catches for 44 yards and another score through the air. That’s a dominating performance which becomes even more impressive when you realize he only played one half of football. With shallow depth at the running back position this year, Gaskin offers you the opportunity to forgo drafting RB/RB in the first two rounds of your draft, while coming back in the fourth round to get a guy who could return top 12-15 numbers if he remains healthy.
Verdict: Slightly Undervalued
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Will Fuller – WR 33 - 72nd Overall
Will Fuller has been a solid fantasy asset while playing with the Houston Texans’ the past few seasons. One of Deshaun Watson’s favorite targets, Fuller has caught plenty of deep bombs for touchdowns en route to winning weeks for fantasy managers everywhere. Dolphins fans were hoping that Fuller would bring that element to Miami’s passing attack this season, but unfortunately, up until this point, we haven’t been able to witness much of Fuller on the field due to the fact that he is nursing an injury – something he also did quite often in Texans’ red and blue. A suspension for PED use will also keep him off of the field regardless of his health status for Week One. With receivers like Chase Claypool, Brandin Cooks, Deebo Samuel and others ranked similarly around Fuller, you may want to wait and snag a Miami receiver later in your draft.
Verdict: Overvalued
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Jaylen Waddle – WR 49 - 95th Overall
The Miami Dolphins were looking to capitalize on the already prevalent chemistry between former college teammates, Tua Tagovailoa and Jaylen Waddle, when they drafted the electric receiver with the 6th overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. So far, Chris Grier and company seemed to have hit the jackpot, as reports out of training camp have been glowing for Waddle. Despite an injury scare against Atlanta in the second preseason contest, Waddle finished the first half of play (his only half) with 3 catches for 21 yards. While the stat-line wasn’t overly impressive, his usage was. Miami lined Waddle up all over different formations, even sending him in motion pre-snap on a few occasions. Preseason gameplans are typically quite a bit more vanilla than those we see in the regular season, so one can imagine how creatively Waddle will be used when the bullets are live. With his ability to excel with routes on all levels of the field, it’s time to get excited. Going more than two rounds later than Will Fuller, Waddle represents more of an appropriately valued selection.
Verdict: Appropriately Ranked
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Mike Gesicki – TE 12 - 108th Overall
“Contract Year Mike.” Looking for a big payday following the final year of his rookie contract, Mike Gesicki should ball out this season. Hopefully Miami can lock up this weapon for many years to come, but you won’t have to pay as high of a price as the Dolphins will when you grab him in the 8th or 9th round of your fantasy drafts this season. After a full offseason of work with Tua Tagovailoa, Gesicki is in prime position to have his best year in the league yet. Gesicki has gone on record to say that he has prioritized forcing broken tackles this year, so if he can add that to his already loaded repertoire, opposing defenses better watch out. I could easily see Gesicki finishing the year with top-5 production at his position.
Verdict: Vastly Undervalued
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DeVante Parker – WR 53 - 119th Overall
It’s hard to say how Parker’s 2021 season will go. Much like Will Fuller, Parker hasn’t spent much time on the practice field this offseason, however he did play with Tua for most of last year. It’s also hard to predict how Miami will value Parker’s skillset come game-day. With an emphasis on speed and separation, two things Parker does not excel in, Parker could see his role scaled back from years past. He’s still one of the taller weapons in Miami’s arsenal, so his touchdown production via redzone opportunities may still be fine, however he’s likely to see a reduction in receptions and overall yardage, which has already been factored into his average draft position. With unproven commodities like Jakobi Meyers, Marquez Calloway, Michael Pittman Jr., and Jalen Reagor in the vicinity of his ranking, you could do worse than Parker in the 10th round, given the injury histories of Miami’s other receivers.
Verdict: Appropriately Ranked
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Tua Tagovailoa – QB 14 - 134th Overall
After a fantasy season in 2020 where you would not have wanted to have Tua Tagovailoa as your starting quarterback, I expect the opposite to be true in 2021. Tua will take a massive leap forward this season as long as he stays healthy behind a somewhat shaky offensive line. The Dolphins surrounded the young signal caller with a multitude of weapons who fit his skillset. On top of that, he finally has offensive coordinators who are catering the game-plan to their franchise QB. Imagine that! What has that done for Tua this preseason? Take away one bad throw for an interception against Chicago, and Tua has been on fire. I’m fine with you grabbing Tua as your unquestioned starter, but I would prefer to draft him as my “backup” in the 11th round with the intention of trading one of my quarterbacks for a quality RB later in the year.
Verdict: Undervalued
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Malcolm Brown – RB 48 - 139th Overall
ESPN ranks new Dolphins’ running back, Malcolm Brown, as a mid-11th round selection in fantasy drafts this season. With nightmares of Jordan Howard’s 1.2 yards per carry haunting my dreams, I can safely say that the “short yardage back” role for Miami is one I’m going to avoid at all costs come draft day, despite the scarcity of quality RBs this season. I hope I’m proven wrong and Brown racks up double-digit goal-line scores for the Fins this season, but I would say the chances of that happening are quite slim.
Verdict: Vastly Overvalued
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Jason Sanders – K 6 - 186th Overall
What can I say about Jason Sanders that hasn’t already been said? The guy is money. So much so, that his name has been stylized as $anders by my cohort with The Phinsiders, Josh Houtz, for more than a season already. Don’t draft kickers before the last couple of rounds, but with five guys ranked ahead of Sanders according to ESPN, you should be able to get good value when you snag the money man late.
Verdict: Slightly Undervalued
THE BEST OF THE REST
Salvon Ahmed should have a solid role in Miami’s passing attack this season, so if you’re looking for a RB you can basically get for free in the last round of your draft, or you need to handcuff your Gaskin investment, or if you simply need to snag a free-agent RB ahead of Week One, Ahmed could be a steal.
Albert Wilson was put on ice after unanimously being heralded as the best Miami WR in the early portions of training camp. He was catching deep bomb touchdowns on a daily basis before suffering a non-serious injury. Wilson is going undrafted this year, so much like Ahmed, if you want a late round Fin, Wilson can be had for basically nothing.
Well, there you have it! It’s finally a year where owning multiple Miami Dolphins in fantasy football could actually help you win your league! I wish you the best of luck during your drafts this weekend and beyond! Fins Up!
Who do you think is the best value pick on the Dolphins in fantasy football this year? Who are you staying away from? Let me know in the comments below or on Twitter at @MBrave13!
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