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Fantasy Football Target Practice: The 2026 Miami Dolphins
Jun 24, 2026Vernon MeighanThe Fantasy Footballers
Getting things ready
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Brock Bowers
TE · LV · #general
...antasyfootballers.com/fantasy/brock-bowers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Brock Bowers or <a href="https://www.thefantasyfootballers.com/fantasy/trey-mcbride...
Malik Washington
WR · MIA · #general
...syfootballers.com/fantasy/malik-washington" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Malik Washington – The Slot Focal Point <...
Ollie Gordon
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...asyfootballers.com/fantasy/ollie-gordon-ii" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ollie Gordon RB 21 15 69 4.4% </t...
Caleb Douglas
WR · MIA · #general
...ntasyfootballers.com/fantasy/caleb-douglas" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Caleb Douglas – The Flanker Expecte...
Chris Bell
WR · MIA · #general
...efantasyfootballers.com/fantasy/chris-bell" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Chris Bell looms as a major threat to his overall ceiling. <a hre...
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Welcome to the Island of Misfit Toys—I mean, the 2026 Miami Dolphins . Good luck projecting this passing game. Malik Willis is unproven, despite flashing for Green Bay in 2025. Worse, the WR room just lost Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle without replacing them. The only bright spot? De’Von Achane , whose stock is bound to rise. This roster passes the smell test—if you like pungent, fine cheeses. Before you turn away from the 2026 Dolphins, consider whether they might be the ultimate delicacy on your fantasy charcuterie board. Let’s take a closer look. 1. The Macro View This offseason stripped the Dolphins of nearly all fantasy appeal. The top WRs are gone, with no clear successors. Creative mastermind Mike McDaniel was shown the door. Even Tua Tagovailoa is a Falcon now, though replacing him under center might actually matter less than you think. Coaching Changes: Miami’s new staff feels like a total punt on 2026. Defensive HC Jeff Hafley projects a run-heavy drag, and OC Bobby Slowik is a mixed bag. Slowik peaked early with rookie C.J. Stroud before an ugly regression. His “Shanahan-lite” scheme uses the right framework but completely lacks the creative adjustments needed to actually scare defenses. New Signal Caller: Malik Willis parlayed a brief, flashing stretch filling in for Jordan Love into a massive 2026 opportunity. The Dolphins backed him with a three-year, $67.5 million contract ($45M guaranteed), with dead money hits of $45M and $39M locking him in for the next two seasons. Miami is heavily betting on upside, specifically the 85.7% completion rate Willis flashed across four games last year. Cloudy Target Picture: Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle left behind a massive 28% target share—roughly 134 to 171 targets. Yet despite the massive vacancy, Miami’s pass volume is set to tank. Expect HC Jeff Hafley to enforce a run-first, ball-control identity that limits overall target opportunities, making De’Von Achane the only real known commodity in the passing offense. The Passing Pie: 486 Pass Attempts The 2026 Dolphins mirror recent New York Jets teams. They will start run-heavy to protect Malik Willis , but when that fails, they will ramp up pass attempts to chase points. This frequent negative game script will force Bobby Slowik’s offense into standard West Coast mode: quick hitters designed to move the chains reliably. These projections assume Malik Willis locks down the job for a full 17 games. They also factor in a distinct “Stars and Potential” shift, where Miami’s rookies outpace newly acquired veterans for early snaps. While this WR room is easily the league’s toughest to project, OTA buzz and a bit of tea-leaf reading provide insight into potential target distribution. 2. Target Beneficiaries: Capability X Infrastructure Malik Washington – The Slot Focal Point Expected Role: Slot “Chess Piece”/Occasional “Z” 2026 Projection: 89 Tgts | 18.4% Tgt Share | 63 Recs | 667 rec yds | 6 TDs | 166.7 FPts Malik Washington is Miami’s WR1 and it’s like nobody cares pic.twitter.com/BqWDV8W61u — SleeperNFL (@SleeperNFL) June 4, 2026 The Optimism: Malik Washington is uniquely positioned to capture Miami’s target vacancy. His experience with the system gives him an immediate leg up over veteran additions in minicamp, earning glowing praise from De’Von Achane as the offseason’s biggest standout. Monitor his momentum in training camp, but the foundation is there. Having already run a variation of these Shanahan West Coast principles under…