Miami Dolphins fantasy football start and sit: Week 4

Week four of the NFL season can be very important for your fantasy football teams as bye weeks start to appear. The Miami Dolphins however play this weekend.

My hope is that for Week 3 you didn’t take any of my advice regarding starting and sitting players of the Miami Dolphins in your fantasy football lineups. If you did take my advice, please accept my sincerest apologies. The game did not go as I had projected other than the Dolphins coming out on top.

It feels great to see Miami sitting at 3-0 with their huge showdown set against the Patriots this week. Understandably, the Dolphins are underdogs on the road this week, but New England has some serious flaws in their defense. On paper, this looks like another favorable matchup for fantasy owners. Let’s hope my start/sit suggestions are much better this time around.

Ryan Tannehill

Everyone across the country is finally realizing that many within the Dolphins nation already knew, and that is that Ryan Tannehill is pretty good. In the process of helping Miami get off to a 3-0 start, Tannehill has improved his numbers each week, and it now has him on some people’s fantasy radar.

This past Sunday, Tannehill threw for nearly 300 yards and three touchdown passes. Again, he showed strength in his legs by rushing for 26 yards on three carries. With zero turnovers against him, Tannehill finished this past week with 32.16 fantasy points (6 points per passing touchdown). A terrific outing by any starting quarterback to say the least.

The run game simply did not work against the Raiders, and head coach Adam Gase was forced to abandon it almost altogether. Tannehill did not have to throw it far to his speedy receivers as they did the majority of their damage in the open space.

With the highly anticipated matchup against the Patriots looming, Tannehill is a nice streaming matchup again this week. New England’s defense continues to struggle, dating back to the end of last season. They had no answers for the Lions offense last week, and the Dolphins have just as many weapons to work with.

Even if the Dolphins were to fall behind a couple of scores it could mean that they have to lean on the arm of Tannehill to play catch up. Tannehill is only 19% owned on Yahoo leagues so he’s a good option this week for those fantasy owners struggling at the position or in deeper leagues. He may make for a nice replacement to Jimmy Garoppolo as well, who is now lost for the season after a torn ACL.

Start

Running Backs

The most glaring disappointment that occurred last week against the Raiders that came as a total surprise to me was the inability of the Dolphins run game. After Oakland had given up an average of 5.7 yards per carry in the first two weeks, I thought it was a mere certainty that Kenyan Drake and Frank Gore would find success. On the contrary, they were shut out completely.

Drake had just five rushing attempts for three (yes, three) yards, and caught two passes for only seven yards. It was easily Drake’s worst performance of the season, and raises serious concerns for Drake owners going forward. It’s been a slow start for his production these three weeks, and sharing time with Frank Gore has been pointed to as the primary reason.

Gore rushed for only 12 yards on six carries this past Sunday against Oakland. It was Tannehill who would be the most successful, rushing for 26 yards on three carries. Thankfully, Gase did not stay with his stubborn ways, and eventually abandoned the run. It was a costly move for fantasy owners, but a necessary one to win the game.

Both players have another shot this week against the Patriots. Through three games, New England is allowing 143.3 yards rushing per game. Only Detroit is averaging more. The Patriots allowed 159 yards rushing to the Lions, led by rookie Kerryon Johnson running for 101 yards on 16 carries. It’s a good opportunity for both Drake and Gore to bounce back.

Kenyan Drake – Start

Frank Gore – Sit

More from Dolphins Fantasy Football

Wide Receivers

This is another area of Miami’s offense that I completely blew last week. The Dolphins just have a strong group of guys at wide receiver that it’s tough to project which, if any, are going to have a standout week. Against Oakland, just about all of them did.

Kenny Stills finished the day with a solid outing, producing 61 yards and a score courtesy of three receptions. Stills has earned himself into the discussion as a WR3 with a high ceiling, but with the understanding that he is a boom-or-bust player from week to week. He remains Tannehill’s favorite target down the field, however, so it puts him in opportunities to make big plays.

Albert Wilson and Jakeem Grant were the stars of the show last week. To be honest, without them, Miami may have suffered their first loss of the season. To give Miami the lead in the 4th quarter, Wilson threw a 52-yard touchdown pass to Grant off of a trick play. For those that don’t know, Wilson played some quarterback in high school so the pass was right on the money.

Grant had been the recipient of an 18-yard touchdown pass from Tannehill earlier that pulled the Dolphins to within three in the 3rd quarter. The game clincher was a shovel pass that Wilson took the distance from Tannehill for a 74-yard touchdown. Showcasing their speed, Grant was the only player on the field capable of catching Wilson, and the two high-fived each other in stride as Wilson took it into the end zone.

Two touchdowns for each player on the day clearly bolstered their fantasy numbers. What’s really crazy is that Wilson was only on the field for 10 offensive snaps, and Grant for 9. Granted, the Dolphins themselves only had 39 total since Oakland dominated the time of possession, but it’s still impressive of each player. I’m not sure that I could trust each player for now in my starting lineups because of the lack of opportunities, but they are worth monitoring, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see both of them on the field more this week. They may be worth a shot in DFS games, but not in league play. Although for leagues that have return yards, Grant is a must start.

DeVante Parker showed up to class this past week as well, and did a pretty decent job. He finished the day with 40 yards and two receptions. He can remain on your bench, however, or stay off your radar altogether as he’s only currently owned in 27% of leagues. Danny Amendola continues to make hard-nosed receptions to move the chains. But with 100 total yards through three games he’s an easy fade, although he’ll be extra fired up to play against his former team.

Kenny Stills – Start

DeVante Parker – Sit

Albert Wilson – Sit

Jakeem Grant – Sit

Danny Amendola – Sit

Tight Ends

A.J. Derby could be out this week with a foot injury. If he is it would give rookie Mike Gesicki a boost. Gesicki had his best game to date with three receptions for 31 yards, and he continues to improve week after week. Even if Derby is held out, Gesicki is not a viable option yet to start in leagues, particularly against a stingy Patriots defense that does a pretty good job against tight ends.

A.J. Derby – Sit

Mike Gesicki – Sit

Defense

It was another strong showing by the defense last week although they did give up a season-high 434 yards of total offense. Miami held the Raiders to just 20 points though, and are now averaging just over 17 on the season. The Dolphins also added two more interceptions thanks to star cornerback Xavien Howard. They now have eight turnovers through the first three games.

In addition, Miami added a trio of sacks for the second consecutive week. Unfortunately, it came at a cost as William Hayes hurt himself trying not to fully land on Derek Carr, and ultimately suffered a torn ACL as a result, ending his season. Andre Branch was also banged up during the game, and is expected to miss up to a month. The Dolphins hope to have safety Reshad Jones back this week, but he’ll likely be a game time decision.

New England’s offense has struggled some to start this season, but it never looks good for any defense going up against them. With the added injuries on the defensive line, and at linebacker, you’ll want to stream elsewhere this week for a defense.

Sit

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