Miami Dolphins

Head Coach: Adam Gase (1st year)
Offensive Coordinator: Clyde Christiansen (1st year)
Defensive Coordinator: Vance Joseph (1st year)

Depth Chart

Quarterback: Ryan Tannehill, Matt Moore
Running Back: Jay Ajayi, Arian Foster, Kenyan Drake (r), Damien Williams, Daniel Thomas
Wide Receiver: Jarvis Landry, DeVante Parker, Kenny Stills, Leonte Caroo (r), Griff Whalen
Tight End: Jordan Cameron, Dion Sims
Kicker: Andrew Franks
Defense/Spec Teams: 2015-Finished 8th in yards against and 14th in points against. Finished 25th in sacks and 17th in interceptions.

Coaching Philosophy

The Dolphins have made a complete overhaul of their coaching staff and brought in Adam Gase to run the show in Miami. Gase brings a few things that makes me a little excited for Ryan Tannehill and company this season. First, he likes to run very innovative route concepts for the receivers. Over the past few years, the Dolphins have not been very creative on offense and it looks like that may change this season. Gase also likes to run screen passes, but he likes to run them off play action passes which is a little unique. Finally, he likes to include the tight end into the passing game, so a rebound for Jordan Cameron may be in store. Overall, I expect to see many changes (for the better) on the offensive side of the ball in Miami this season.

Fantasy Outlook

Dolphins Quarterback

Ryan Tannehill is a solid, but not necessarily a flashy, fantasy option this season.

Ryan Tannehill was expected to take that “big step” last season and possibly enter the realm of QB1. That didn’t happen. He struggled in a few areas but maybe most noteably, he went from 66% completion rate in 2014 to only 61% last season. He also threw for three less touchdowns last year than he did in 2014, so there were a few things I’m sure Adam Gase will want to see improve. As mentioned previously, Adam Gase’s system allows receivers to run very creative routes, which should lead to more receivers being open and hopefully, allow Tannehill to complete more passes. I also think we see his touchdown total go up. Last season, 6’3′ rookie DeVante Parker missed most of the beginning of the season, but when he played, he showed he can be a huge red zone threat. He averaged 19 yards per catch and had three touchdowns in his last six games. He’s a big play waiting to happen. Gase has worked with Julius Thomas and Martellus Bennett, so I think Jordan Cameron rebounds and gives them another red zone target this season. All in all, I think Tannehill has a shot at 4,400-4,500 yards with 28-30 touchdowns. He also can add 200+ rushing yards which could add to fantasy value even more. He is a very solid QB2 with the upside that I like from a backup quarterback.

Dolphins Running Backs

This was the look on Jay Ajayi’s face when he heard the Dolphins were signing Arian Foster.

Just when it looked like the Dolphins were ready to hand the running back job to sophomore Jay Ajayi, they went out and signed veteran, Arian Foster. Now fantasy owners have no idea what to expect from their backfield this season. Let’s walk through this together.

Arian Foster will be 30 years old in August and has now missed 23 games total over the last three seasons. Jay Ajayi was diagnosed with a bone on bone condition in his knee before getting drafted last season but this can be more of a long term issue rather than short term. He also missed the first half of last season with a hamstring and rib injury and needless to say, I don’t think the Fins want either to carry a full load in the running game. Ajayi has struggled at times in pass protection while Foster has looked really good so I’m predicting that Ajayi may get a few more rushing attempts and Foster is more active in the passing game. With both of them sharing the load, I think it will limit both of their fantasy upside and make me want to stay away from both. However, if either of them were to become injured, the other could be a very nice fantasy asset. Just predicting which one will get hurt, could be tricky though. They are both being drafted roughly around the seventh round and I think I actually feel slightly better about Foster, especially in PPR leagues. He’s shown he can be more effective in the red zone so I think he scores more touchdowns than Ajayi in 2015 as well as catches more balls. I can’t say I’m in love with either of them, but if I had a gun to my head, I say give me Foster.

Rookie, Kenyon Drake could be a nice long term option, particularly on special teams and third downs, but I don’t expect much from him this season. He suffered a hamstring injury which should set him back in training camp and is not a fantasy option in ten or twelve team leagues.

Dolphins Wide Receivers

The Dolphins have their coveted, red zone threat in DeVante Parker.

The Dolphins have a very talented group of receivers that is led by third year receiver, Jarvis Landry. Landry exploded last season as he caught 110 balls for over 1,100 yards and finished as the ninth highest scoring receiver in PPR leagues. The only thing holding him back from being a top five guy is he only caught four touchdowns on the season. I don’t think you can expect his touchdown total to be that low every year and I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw similar receiving totals to go along with six to eight scores this season. He is very consistent as well as he caught six or more passes in 11 of his 16 games, and scored double digit fantasy points in all but one game all year (PPR scoring). He loses value if you play in a standard league, but if you are in a PPR or even half point PPR, Landry should be a top ten fantasy, wide receiver again in 2016.

To complement Landry who is a great possession receiver, the Dolphins drafted explosive DeVante Parker last year to be the “Yin” to Landry’s “Yang”. Parker runs great routes, has really good hands, and seemed to develop a nice chemistry with Ryan Tannehill down the stretch last season. Here’s an interesting stat on Parker (from Pro Football Focus). In his last season in college, due to injury he only recorded 43 receptions. In those 43 catches, he forced 15 missed tackles. Only 16 players in the entire FBS recorded more missed tackles and only four recorded greater than two more than him, even with him getting hurt. This guy can ball. He is the type of high upside guy that I like to have on my roster. Right now he is currently going in the sixth round as roughly the 32nd wide receiver off the board, which means he’s getting drafted as a low end WR3. I think that is his absolute floor for fantasy production but has the upside to out produce that by a mile. Make sure to make Parker a target on draft day.

Kenny Stills is a piece of poop. Maybe that’s a little harsh. He’s a big play receiver that is the epitome of boom or bust. He only caught more than three balls in one game last year, so he was way more of a bust than a boom in 2015. Don’t consider him in 10 or 12 team leagues. Rookie, Leonte Caroo however can be a much better version of Kenny Stills. He can play either in the slot or outside, has great hands and averaged over 20 yards per catch and over seven yards after the catch, his final two years of college. He’s a great athlete and I think he beats Stills out for the third wide receiver job by Week 1. He is a late round flier for redraft leagues as of right now, but should definitely be a target in dynasty leagues. I am very interested in seeing him play this summer and fall.

Dolphins Tight Ends

It was just three seasons ago that Jordan Cameron caught 80 balls for over 900 yards and seven touchdowns for the Cleveland Browns. That was not the same Jordan Cameron that we saw last year, as he only had 35 receptions for 386 yards and three touchdowns. What a difference playing under Rob Chudzinski did for him in 2013 (hint, hint…Chud is now in Indy with Dwayne Allen). Even though he was bad last year, the coaching staff is completely different in Miami this year and they now have tight end friendly coach, Adam Gase. Last season Martellus Bennett recorded 53 catches in only 11 games, so we could see a rebound for Cameron in 2016. I’m not sure it will be a big enough rebound to turn him into a TE1, but I think he’s definitely worth a look as a TE2 in drafts this season.

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