The Miami Dolphins will face the Los Angeles Rams in Week 10. Here’s fantasy football start-sit advice for every Dolphins skill player who has the potential to make a fantasy impact during the game.
Looking for more lineup advice? Head over to our Week 10 Fantasy Start-Sit Cheat Sheet, where we cover every fantasy-relevant player in every game.
Tua Tagovailoa, QB
Tua Tagovailoa has brought excitement to Miami, completing 53 of 66 passes (80.3%) over the past two weeks and executing this offense in the fashion in which it was intended.
The Rams have allowed multiple passing touchdowns in five of eight games this season. On the fast track, Tagovailoa very much has the potential to add to that total in a performance that looks like last week.
Is there something to the bright lights to fear here? Over his past five prime-time games, Tagovailoa has just four touchdown passes against seven interceptions, scoring under 13 fantasy points in each of those instances.
I’m more encouraged by the matchup than I am worried about the prime-time numbers, and that lands Tagovailoa as my QB12, ranking in the middle of a tier that stretches from QB8-16.
De’Von Achane, RB
If you extend De’Von Achane’s numbers from the four Tua Tagovailoa starts for a full season, all you get is 2,266 yards from scrimmage and 21 touchdowns.
No big deal.
He’s been a top-three running back in both of those games, and the creativity that made him special last season was on full display last week as Miami was able to get him a screen pass in the red zone, something that feels like cheating. He had a touchdown run in the fourth quarter that I thought showed some maturity as a runner by way of patience. That could result in him leveling up further if that’s at all possible.
Achane is on the fast track to paying off what you paid for him this summer and potentially even more come the fantasy postseason.
Jaylen Wright, RB
Whether or not the Dolphins will extend their talented rookie as this season progresses is something to watch, but in terms of what we can project with confidence, there’s no way to justify considering him anything more than a low-end lineup stash.
Jaylen Wright played just 15% of the snaps last week and, even with various injuries to the skill position players in Miami, hasn’t reached a 34% snap share in six of seven games. His ceiling through nine weeks is RB34, and ranking him inside the top 40 is a leap of faith, let alone putting him near the Flex conversation.
Raheem Mostert, RB
Raheem Mostert was handed the ball for five of Miami’s first eight rushing attempts last week against the Bills, but he ended the week with an underwhelming 23.3% snap share, less than half of his rate from the week before against the Cardinals.
If you want to chase a touchdown in a given week, Mostert isn’t a bad bet, but counting on him every week comes with more risk than reward as long as De’Von Achane is healthy. Tua Tagovailoa’s return has benefited Tyreek Hill and Achane at a high level, leaving only scraps for Mostert and Jaylen Waddle.
The veteran back should remain rostered due to the offense’s potency and his proven ability to succeed in scoring situations, but he’s not the type of player you’re starting consistently but rather when your roster puts you in a tough spot and you have no volume-based plays at your disposal.
Jaylen Waddle, WR
I’m not going to say the return of Tua Tagovailoa has been a hindrance on Jaylen Waddle, but it certainly hasn’t helped what is shaping up to be a lost season.
Weeks 3-7 (without Tagovailoa):
- 18.8% target share
- 16.7% red-zone target rate
Weeks 8-9 (with Tagovailoa):
- 13.1% target share
- 11.1% red-zone target rate
We are clearly dealing with tiny samples here, which is what keeps Waddle in the Flex tier. Miami’s offense as a whole is functioning at a higher level, and that rising tide has the ability to, eventually, lift all boats.
The Rams allow the sixth-most yards per play this season, so maybe this is the perfect get-right spot. However, their specific deficiencies line up better for Tyreek Hill (keep reading).
Waddle’s first target in Week 9 didn’t come until the fourth quarter, and due to a funky final play, he ended with negative four receiving yards.
Jaylen Waddle -3.5 fantasy points pic.twitter.com/vEUnRTlP0d
— Chives (@jarrett_daveler) November 3, 2024
I’m preaching patience over panic in this situation, though I think the best-case scenario moving forward might be a boom/bust receiver more than a safe option that you can count on weekly.
Tyreek Hill, WR
I don’t know about you, but it feels very much like the spike Tyreek Hill game is inevitable — and it could come on Monday night. There have been flashes over the past two weeks with Tua Tagovailoa back under center, but Hill’s production has ended almost spot-on with where you’d expect (24.6 expected PPR points vs. 25.2 actual PPR points).
I think that changes this week based on Tagovailoa’s increased comfort, yes, but also this matchup. The Rams are easily the best defense in limiting slot production this season, something that has me projecting a perimeter-oriented Dolphins passing attack in Week 10:
Production with Tua Tagovailoa under center since 2023:
- Hill: 0.4% over expectation from the slot vs. 38.2% over expectation out wide
- Waddle: 4.2% over expectation from the slot vs. 23.7% over expectation out wide
Hill is the unquestioned WR1 in this offense as it is, and given how Los Angeles defends, I’m expecting him to be featured in a significant way. This is the spot you’ve waited three months for.
Jonnu Smith, TE
One of these things is not like the other, one of these things doesn’t belong.
That’s the list of tight ends that have caught four passes in each of their past four games. This is a cheap way to bet on Miami, and that’s a bet I’m more than comfortable making against a Rams defense that is in the bottom five in yards per pass, YAC, and passing-touchdown rate this season.
The Dolphins are averaging 39.5% more yards per play since Tua Tagovailoa came back than they did in the games they missed. Smith is, at best, the fourth option in this passing game, but I think that can be enough to flirt with TE1 status in Week 10.