Fantasy Football: Is the Miami Dolphins defense underrated?

The Miami Dolphins defense was one of the top fantasy units last season. Now, they’re nearly out of the top-10. What changed?

The NFL preseason is upon us once again, meaning that fantasy football drafts are about to be in full swing. Experts are beginning to release their mocks and rankings, and there will be a handful of Miami Dolphins players that are deemed valuable enough to be a fantasy starter this coming season. But there is one that they are ranking a bit too low, and that is the defensive unit.

Depending on which fantasy outlet you choose, the Dolphins’ defense is widely ranked somewhere between #9 and #13. The usual suspects like the Rams and Ravens grace the top of the list, and others like The Football Team and 49ers have strong cases for a top spot as well.

But if last season was any indication, then Miami should be receiving some consideration as well. They finished in the top-10 in plenty of statistical categories in 2020, and even a few in the top-5:

Points allowed per game: 21.1 (6th)
Takeaways: 29 (1st)
Pass TDs allowed: 21 (2nd)
Sacks: 41 (10th)
Defensive TDs: 3 (10th)

Despite the success, the “experts” still have the Dolphins’ defense ranked far lower than their output last year would indicate. There were player departures that could be a factor, as guys like Kyle Van Noy, Bobby McCain, and Shaq Lawson are no longer with the franchise.

But the players that have been brought in to replace them along with the guys that the team was able to retain should make Miami a top-7 defense again this coming season. Rookies Jevon Holland and Jaelan Phillips will look to make an immediate impact, and the restructuring of Xavien Howard’s contract gives the Dolphins back their Defensive Player of the Year candidate.

The rest of the young defense is now with another training camp and off season under their belts, and the defense has been visibly improved with each season, or each game, that goes by in Brian Flores’ coaching career. There is little reason to believe that the Dolphins will suffer any kind of regression on the defensive side of the ball, as the unit is even deeper and stronger than it was last year.

Can Howard pick off double-digit passes and lead the league in interceptions again? Probably not, but Holland, the ball-hawking rookie, is more than able to fill some of that role. Can Andrew Van Ginkel sack the quarterback 5.5 times and force three more fumbles? Who knows, but Phillips and Benardrick McKinney are guys who can help the cause.

So should you take the Dolphins defense in the fifth round? Of course not. Very few defenses are going to outright win you any fantasy football games. But once the first defense or two starts coming off of the board in your draft, throw the Miami Dolphins in your queue.