Fantasy Football: Your simple guide to the AFC East
Miami Dolphins simple fantasy football guide
Quarterback
Ryan Fitzpatrick has always captivated me as a player. Here’s this guy, Harvard educated, rocking the dad bod and an axeman’s beard, yet he’s a starting quarterback of the Miami Dolphins — sometimes. It’s like watching an episode of The Masked Singer. There are times when you’re convinced it’s a professional R&B singer under that mask only for it to be like Drew Carey or something. That’s Ryan Fitzpatrick.
There will be times where he can win the week for you in fantasy football. Then there are times where he gets benched in the first quarter after throwing four interceptions. I expect him to start the first half of the season but I also expect him to have a bit of a shorter leash this year with first-round rookie Tua Tuagavoila on his heels.
You should also consider that head coach Brian Flores, a Bill Belichick disciple, will likely try to build the Dolphins into a version of New England-lite. The Fins made vast improvements to their defense and I don’t expect them to be playing a lot of games from behind as they did in 2019. Fewer shootouts will likely result in less fantasy production. So, as much as it pains me, I’d avoid Fitzmagic.
Running Back
Ready for a hot take? This is going to be the Jordan Howard show. In an offseason where the Dolphins had cash to splurge and draft picks galore, they immediately targeted Jordan Howard to fill the running back position. He’s not flashy. He’s not explosive. But he’s very productive when given the ball, finishes runs with authority, has a bloodhound’s nose for the end zone and is a very reliable pass blocker.
As mentioned, Miami had a boatload of draft picks and passed over the drafts more coveted backs like J.K. Dobbins, Jonathan Taylor and D’Andre Swift multiple times. But what about Matt Breida you ask? They traded for Breida, didn’t they?
Yes — but it was San Francisco who was actively trying to deal Breida after acquiring left tackle Trent Williams from the Washington Football Team. The Dolphins did what any good front office would do. They acquired talent at a value when it was offered to them. Breida’s presence does not impact my interest in Jordan Howard. Trust me, this will be a ball-control offense and it’s going to feature a lot of Jordan Howard.
Wide Receivers
DeVante Parker was a nice story last year. He finally broke free of the Adam Gase curse and had himself a really good season. He looked like the dynamic vertical threat that the Dolphins drafted in the first round of 2017.
Preston Williams was another pleasant surprise early on in the season. But again, fantasy football production hinges on opportunity and I don’t think the plan is for Ryan Fitzpatrick to pass as much as he had to last season.
Tight End
Mike Gesicki rebounded nicely from a brutal rookie season and looks to have carved out a consistent role in the offense. He definitely has all the tools and ability to be the NFL’s next great tight end but I think we’re still a few years away.
He was a little inconsistent last year and, with a light offseason due to the pandemic, I don’t expect a lot of fringe stars to take that next big leap. But even then, the position is thin enough that Gesicki will still be a top-10 fantasy football tight end.