Miami Dolphins 2026 Fantasy Football Draft: FantasyLineups Subscriber Blueprint
The Miami Dolphins enter 2026 looking completely different from the offense fantasy managers became accustomed to over the last several seasons.
Tua Tagovailoa is gone. Tyreek Hill is gone. Jaylen Waddle is gone. Mike McDaniel is gone.
Miami now enters the Jeff Hafley era with Malik Willis at quarterback, De’Von Achane as the centerpiece of the offense and one of the youngest and most unsettled receiving groups in football.
For fantasy drafts, Achane is clearly the player who matters most. After him, Miami offers several inexpensive players with opportunities to emerge.
Current Offensive Depth Chart
QB: Malik Willis | Kyle McCord | Brady Cook
RB: De’Von Achane | Jaylen Wright | Ollie Gordon II
WR: Caleb Douglas | Malik Washington | Jalen Tolbert | Chris Bell | Kevin Coleman Jr. | Ryan Miller
TE: Greg Dulcich | Will Kacmarek | Seydou Traore | Justin Joly
Offensive Line:
LT — Patrick Paul
LG — Kadyn Proctor
C — Aaron Brewer
RG — Jonah Savaiinaea
RT — Austin Jackson
Miami’s roster has changed substantially following final cuts and the waiver period. This is the group fantasy managers should be working from entering Week 1.
A Completely Different Miami Offense
The Dolphins are starting over offensively.
Jeff Hafley takes over as head coach, with Bobby Slowik running the offense. Slowik spent last season with Miami before being promoted to offensive coordinator.
The biggest change is personnel.
Miami no longer has the explosive Hill-Waddle combination that defined this offense. Instead, the Dolphins will rely heavily on Achane while attempting to develop a new passing game around Willis and a young receiving corps.
That creates opportunity, but also considerably more uncertainty.
Malik Willis
Fantasy Outlook: QB2 With Rushing Upside
Willis will open the season as Miami’s starting quarterback.
His legs are what make him interesting for fantasy football. Quarterbacks who can create meaningful rushing production don’t necessarily need huge passing numbers to produce usable fantasy weeks.
The concern is the passing environment.
Miami has one of the NFL’s least-established receiving groups, and Willis will be running a new offense without the proven weapons that surrounded Dolphins quarterbacks in recent seasons.
Miami also acquired Kyle McCord just before final cuts, giving the team another quarterback option behind Willis.
Willis is not a quarterback we need to target in normal one-QB leagues.
In Superflex and two-quarterback formats, however, his rushing ability makes him much more interesting.
Fantasy Outlook: QB2 / Superflex target
De’Von Achane
Fantasy Outlook: RB1
Achane is the centerpiece of Miami’s offense.
His combination of speed, receiving ability and big-play potential gives him one of the highest ceilings at the position.
The Dolphins’ roster changes could also result in the offense leaning even more heavily on him.
There are legitimate concerns. Miami’s offensive line has questions, the overall offense may not produce as many scoring opportunities, and defenses can devote significantly more attention to Achane without Hill and Waddle stretching the field.
But Achane doesn’t need 25 carries every week to produce elite fantasy numbers.
His receiving ability remains especially valuable in PPR formats.
Fantasy Outlook: RB1 with elite upside
Jaylen Wright
Fantasy Outlook: Achane Handcuff / Late-Round RB
Wright remains behind Achane but has enough talent to become fantasy relevant if his workload increases.
He should compete for complementary touches while providing Miami with another explosive option out of the backfield.
His biggest value is obvious: if Achane misses time, Wright could move into a substantially larger role.
Fantasy Outlook: Late-round RB / Achane insurance
Ollie Gordon II
Fantasy Outlook: Deep-League RB
Gordon gives Miami a bigger running back who can complement Achane and Wright.
His path to consistent fantasy production is limited while Achane is healthy, but his size gives Miami a different option in short-yardage situations.
Fantasy Outlook: Deep-league watch list
The Wide Receiver Competition
This is where Miami becomes especially interesting.
There is no Hill.
There is no Waddle.
There isn’t an established fantasy star replacing them.
Someone is going to lead this team in wide receiver targets, and that creates potential late-round value.
Caleb Douglas
Fantasy Outlook: Rookie Sleeper
Douglas has been one of Miami’s biggest risers during training camp.
The rookie earned first-team opportunities and emerged from the summer positioned for an immediate role.
His combination of size and opportunity makes him the Miami receiver with perhaps the most interesting ceiling entering the season.
The uncertainty surrounding the entire passing game keeps expectations under control, but Douglas has a realistic path to becoming one of Willis’ primary targets.
Fantasy Outlook: Late-round sleeper
Malik Washington
Fantasy Outlook: PPR Sleeper
Washington enters the season with an opportunity for his largest offensive role yet.
He can work underneath, create yards after the catch and contribute in multiple ways.
Miami’s lack of an established target leader gives Washington an opportunity to become one of the more frequently used receivers in this offense.
He is unlikely to cost much in fantasy drafts.
Fantasy Outlook: Late-round PPR target
Jalen Tolbert
Fantasy Outlook: Deep-League Target
Tolbert gives Miami more NFL experience than most of its receiver room and should have an opportunity to play immediately.
The question is whether that opportunity translates into enough targets to make him consistently useful for fantasy.
Fantasy Outlook: Deep-league option
Chris Bell
Fantasy Outlook: Rookie Watch List
Bell made Miami’s final roster after working his way back from the ACL injury that ended his final college season.
His long-term talent makes him interesting, but expecting immediate high-volume production would be aggressive considering the time he lost during his recovery.
Bell is more interesting as a player to monitor early in the season.
Fantasy Outlook: Watch list / Dynasty target
Kevin Coleman Jr.
Fantasy Outlook: Deep Sleeper
Coleman also survived final cuts as Miami continues to rebuild its receiver room with younger players.
His immediate role is less certain than Douglas or Washington.
Fantasy Outlook: Deep-league watch list
Greg Dulcich
Fantasy Outlook: Late-Round TE Sleeper
Dulcich enters the season atop Miami’s tight end depth chart.
That alone makes him interesting.
The Dolphins don’t have an established high-volume wide receiver, leaving room for the tight end position to become an important part of the passing game.
Dulcich has flashed receiving ability throughout his career. The biggest issue has always been consistency and availability.
At his draft cost, there isn’t much risk.
Fantasy Outlook: Late-round TE sleeper
Offensive Line
LT — Patrick Paul
LG — Kadyn Proctor
C — Aaron Brewer
RG — Jonah Savaiinaea
RT — Austin Jackson
The offensive line is one of the biggest questions surrounding Miami’s fantasy outlook.
Brewer provides stability in the middle, while Miami is counting on development from several younger linemen.
First-round rookie Kadyn Proctor is expected to start at left guard rather than his college position of tackle. Patrick Paul takes over at left tackle, while Austin Jackson returns on the right side.
This line has talent, but there are enough questions that we cannot treat it as a strength entering the season.
Fantasy Impact: Neutral to Concern
That matters most for Achane and Willis.
Final Cuts Changed the Offense
Miami made several significant decisions during final roster cuts.
The Dolphins moved on from several players who had been competing for offensive roster spots, including Terrace Marshall Jr., Jalen Reagor and AJ Henning.
Miami also traded Quinn Ewers to Jacksonville and then acquired Kyle McCord from Green Bay to become Willis’ primary backup.
Brady Cook was subsequently claimed off waivers to give Miami a third quarterback.
At tight end, Ben Sims was waived/injured, while Miami claimed rookie Justin Joly.
The important takeaway for fantasy managers is that Miami’s Week 1 offense looks considerably different from many depth charts and rankings that were published earlier in August.
Strength of Schedule
Miami’s opening schedule isn’t particularly friendly.
Week 1 — at Las Vegas
Week 2 — at San Francisco
Week 3 — vs. Kansas City
Week 4 — at Minnesota
Week 5 — vs. Cincinnati
Week 6 — BYE
The early bye is worth remembering when constructing fantasy rosters.
Miami then gets both AFC East rivals at home during the middle portion of the season before facing a difficult late-season stretch.
Fantasy Playoff Schedule
Week 15 — at Green Bay
Week 16 — vs. L.A. Chargers
Week 17 — vs. Buffalo
This is not a fantasy playoff schedule that should cause us to upgrade Miami players.
The Green Bay road game could be challenging, while Buffalo in Week 17 creates an interesting championship-week matchup.
Achane’s role and receiving ability should keep him playable regardless of matchup.
For Miami’s secondary fantasy players, matchups will matter considerably more.
Miami Dolphins Draft Board
Player
Fantasy Outlook
De’Von Achane
RB1 with elite upside
Malik Willis
QB2 / Superflex
Caleb Douglas
Late-Round WR Sleeper
Malik Washington
PPR Sleeper
Greg Dulcich
Late-Round TE Sleeper
Jaylen Wright
Achane Handcuff
Jalen Tolbert
Deep-League WR
Ollie Gordon II
Deep-League RB
Chris Bell
Watch List / Dynasty
Kevin Coleman Jr.
Deep Sleeper
Final Draft Take
The Miami Dolphins are almost the opposite of the Buffalo Bills for fantasy drafts.
Buffalo gives us several established fantasy players.
Miami gives us one established centerpiece and several inexpensive opportunities.
De’Von Achane — Clear priority and RB1
Malik Willis — Interesting primarily because of his rushing ability
Caleb Douglas — Rookie receiver worth watching closely
Malik Washington — Inexpensive PPR sleeper
Greg Dulcich — Late-round tight end option
Jaylen Wright — Preferred Achane insurance
The biggest mistake fantasy managers can make with Miami is drafting from last year’s expectations.
This isn’t the Tua-Hill-Waddle Dolphins anymore.
It is a new coaching staff, a new starting quarterback, a rebuilt receiving corps and a much younger offense centered around Achane.
That uncertainty creates risk.
It also creates opportunity because several Miami players can be acquired late in drafts before we know exactly where the targets will go.
Don’t Draft From an Outdated Depth Chart.
FantasyLineups will continue updating Miami’s depth chart, injuries and player roles as the Dolphins prepare for Week 1.
