Dolphins Fantasy Football Start/Sit: Week 13

Losers of five straight, the Dolphins have a good chance of getting in the win column this week, but that doesn’t make it a favorable matchup in fantasy.

Both the Miami Dolphins and Denver Broncos have been trending down as the season has gone on. The Dolphins have lost five straight games, and the Broncos have lost seven. One of those teams, however, will end their streak this week as the two teams go head-to-head in South Florida.

At the moment, it is actually the Broncos who are favored in this one by 2.5. That’s probably because of their stout defense, despite all of their other troubles. That defense is also what makes this an unfavorable matchup in fantasy football for Dolphins owners. Let’s see which players are worth rostering in lineups, despite the difficult matchup.

Jay Cutler

Cutler was cleared from the concussion protocol on Wednesday, and will get the start Sunday as a result. It’s a bit of a redemption game for Cutler who started his career in Denver, spending three seasons as a Bronco. I don’t see Cutler getting much redemption, however, in this one. Despite their struggles, Denver’s defense remains one of the top 10 in the league, and remain a nightmare for opposing quarterbacks. Barely worth a flyer any other week, Cutler is an easy fade this week.

Sit

Kenyan Drake

Drake has been unable to get anything going on the ground in Miami’s past two games. He did find the end zone however, last week as a receiver out of the backfield. Drake’s ability as a receiver is what keeps him intriguing in fantasy, particularly in PPR formats. He’s averaged just 1.5 yards per carry in the past two games against mediocre defenses, making this week look horrific for Drake at first glance.

Drake, however, is going to receive a huge uptick in touches this week. Damien Williams will miss at least this week’s game with a dislocated shoulder. Third-stringer Senorise Perry will also be absent with a concussion, leaving Drake to see a strong majority, if not all, of Miami’s offensive snaps. The fact that Drake could easily see 20+ touches, and has been productive in the passing game, makes him a worthy start against Denver.

Start

Jarvis Landry

This is obviously not the best matchup for Dolphins receivers. Miami has had offensive struggles of their own all season, and with Denver’s mighty defense coming in town, things could get ugly. Despite what could be, Landry owners can ill afford benching him because of the matchup. To make matters a little better, the Broncos will be without Aqib Talib, who will be serving a one-game suspension. Landry remains a must-start in nearly all leagues.

Start

DeVante Parker

Parker finished last week’s game against New England with one reception. One. And that was on Miami’s opening possession. He was not heard from again after that. Parker continues to disappoint in many aspects, and it may be time for the Dolphins to part ways with their former first round pick. He simply doesn’t give the effort that we expect from receivers when going up for the catch, and deserves a lot of the blame for Matt Moore‘s interception right before halftime last week. Cutler favors targeting Parker more than Moore does, but Parker is not an option this week.

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Sit

Kenny Stills

In many ways, Stills has catapulted himself over Parker as Miami’s #2 receiver. It’s even starting to show on DraftKings and Fanduel, where Stills is now based at a higher salary than Parker. It was a quiet day for Stills last week, however, but then again it was for most of the Dolphins players. While Stills could be beneficial for fantasy owners down the road in the fantasy playoffs, he’s best left on the bench against this Broncos squad.

Sit

Julius Thomas

Thomas has been getting more involved in the offense as of late, even if it hasn’t resulted in the best fantasy production. If there is one area of weakness for the Broncos, however, it would be against tight ends, where they rank in the bottom five. I’m very hesitant of starting Thomas in any game, but at a position that’s always weak, it’s worth considering. If you don’t own any of the elite tight ends in your league then Thomas may be your best option.

Start

Defense

With the Broncos offense struggling just as much as Miami’s, this looks like a decent matchup on paper. However, the Dolphins defense continues to struggle, having given up at least 27 points in each of their last six games. They also haven’t recorded more than one sack since Week 7, and have created just 10 turnovers all season. Both are huge key factors for fantasy defenses, and with the rushing defense continuing to be poor, I can’t risk starting this defense with fantasy league playoffs on the line.

Sit

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