Say what you will about the Miami Dolphins, but the team certainly showed some fire last season under head coach Brian Flores. That momentum is a good thing as the franchise heads into a pivotal year in its rebuild. It’s likely the roster will look very different following the NFL draft, but our initial 2020 fantasy football projections have some interesting things to say about Miami.
The Dolphins are loaded up with 14 picks in this year’s draft, including three in the first round. It’s all but a lock that the team uses the No. 5 overall pick on a quarterback, which essentially renders Ryan Fitzpatrick as a placeholder in our numbers. Fitzpatrick did finish as the No. 18 fantasy quarterback last season and projects right in the same range, but he seems like a longshot to open the season as a starter.
Regardless of who is under center, our numbers absolutely love third-year TE Mike Gesicki. The Penn State product comes in at TE12 in our initial projections, which is just two spots higher than we have him in our 2020 fantasy football rankings. Gesicki took a big step forward in 2019, finishing a surprise 12th among tight ends in PPR scoring, but a lot of his production came down the stretch. Over the first 10 weeks of the season, Gesicki was ranked 30th at the position in scoring. He then outscored all but seven tight ends over the final seven weeks with five touchdowns over that span. Gesicki is shaping up to be an intriguing tight end to target in the late rounds.
Last year we also finally saw the long-awaited DeVante Parker breakout season. Parker had been nearly written off for fantasy purposes, but an injury to Preston Williams opened up more target shares. Parker responded with double-digit targets in six of his final eight games of the season. During that stretch, only Michael Thomas and Davante Adams averaged more fantasy points per game. To be clear, we do expect regression in efficiency from Parker but still position him well ahead of Williams as the preferred fantasy wideout in Miami.
As for the backfield, there really isn’t anything to get excited about right now. The Dolphins signed Jordan Howard in free agency, but his days as a fantasy standout are now in the rearview mirror. Like at quarterback, there’s a good chance the top fantasy option isn’t currently on the roster. It's highly likely that Miami addresses the position in the draft.
[Find the full collection of analysis and insights on PFF's 2020 fantasy football projections for all 32 NFL teams. Check back as more articles will be added each day.]
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