Fantasy Sleepers, Busts & Bold Predictions: The 2026 Miami Dolphins
There are always bad receiver rooms somewhere in the NFL. Who can forget Josh Allen having to throw to Robert Foster, Zay Jones and Kelvin Benjamin as a rookie? This year, though, might be particularly special in that regard. In New York, Garrett Wilson and Tim Patrick are the only receivers with even one 500-yard season on their resume. Patrick’s came five years ago. In Washington, it’s just Terry McLaurin and Van Jefferson, and like Patrick, Jefferson’s was in 2021. And they don’t even have a first-round rookie, with third-rounder Antonio Williams the top prospect. In Las Vegas, Tre Tucker and Phillip Dorsett are the receivers with 500-yard seasons, and Dorsett’s came 10 years ago. No rookie, and the “big” free agent acquisition was Jalen Nailor. And Miami might top them all. The Dolphins do have two 500-yard receivers, and both came more recently than the Dorsetts and Patricks and Jeffersons. But those two guys are Tutu Atwell and Jalen Tolbert (both in 2024), so it’s not like there’s anything like a stud there. The rest of the offense after De’Von Achane is similarly disappointing. So is there fantasy value in Miami in 2026? Let’s explore.
2026 Sleepers, Busts & Bold Predictions: Miami Dolphins
Sleeper: Greg Dulcich, TE
Dulcich last year had his best year since his rookie season in 2022. Of course, he totaled 53 scoreless yards in the two years in between, so that’s not saying much. Still, he played 10 games in Miami, and if you take out his ease-him-in Week 8 with 0 targets, he averaged 3.7 targets, 2.9 receptions and 37.2 yards the rest of the season, topping 40 yards five times. No, that’s not going to set any records, but given he was the No. 2 TE (at best) on a team that was playing out the string with guys like Zach Wilson and Quinn Ewers, you can do way worse. Now, Darren Waller is gone, and Dulcich is set up to be the clear TE1 from the start of the season. There are no known quantities on this offense behind De’Von Achane in the backfield. A low-end TE1 season on sheer quantity is well within Dulcich’s range of outcomes in this situation.
Bust: De’Von Achane, RB

This is a halfhearted selection, if only because the only possible candidates on the Miami roster are Achane and Malik Willis, and even Willis is going outside the top 20 QBs in the earliest ADP. So it’s Achane, even if I’m not over the moon about having to select him. That said, he has more warning signs than most backs going as high as him. First off, he’s in what very well might be the worst offense in football and behind a bottom-six offensive line. Opponents know the team has one trustworthy weapon, so Achane will face every stacked box possible. And a bigger problem is that the defense also looks like it’s going to be a mess. The Dolphins will be in catch-up mode all season. Achane is a prolific enough pass-catcher, but at a 0.4-yard aDOT (per FTN Stats & Charting), he’s not the option you go to when you’re desperate to score fast. Achane has every opportunity in 2026, but the overall team might just be too bad for any running back to succeed.
Bold Prediction: Malik Washington Is the Dolphins’ WR1
ADP this early is pretty vague. Someone who is in the top 20 now might barely be top 40 later after some roster moves and news and injuries. But it can give us some information. And while no Dolphin is even in the top 70 among WRs of early ADP, no team has more WRs in the top 140 than the Dolphins.
| Team | Top 140 WRs | Team | Top 140 WRs | |
| Miami | 7 | Detroit | 4 | |
| New England | 6 | Houston | 4 | |
| San Francisco | 6 | Jacksonville | 4 | |
| Baltimore | 5 | Kansas City | 4 | |
| Buffalo | 5 | LA Chargers | 4 | |
| Cleveland | 5 | New Orleans | 4 | |
| Denver | 5 | Seattle | 4 | |
| Las Vegas | 5 | Tampa Bay | 4 | |
| NY Giants | 5 | Washington | 4 | |
| Philadelphia | 5 | Arizona | 3 | |
| Tennessee | 5 | Green Bay | 3 | |
| Atlanta | 4 | Indianapolis | 3 | |
| Carolina | 4 | LA Rams | 3 | |
| Chicago | 4 | Minnesota | 3 | |
| Cincinnati | 4 | NY Jets | 3 | |
| Dallas | 4 | Pittsburgh | 3 |
(Stefon Diggs, Deebo Samuel, Tyreek Hill and Keenan Allen are all going in the top 140 but are not on teams.) What does that mean? Well, it means that drafters are trying really hard to figure out where the targets in Miami will go, and they don’t know. It’s all very “If you have two quarterbacks, you don’t have one,” only times seven. If I’m picking right now, though, give me Washington. The rookies are not exciting — Caleb Douglas was an overdraft by pretty much any analyst’s board, Chris Bell is recovering from a torn ACL, and Kevin Coleman Jr. was a fifth-rounder and the 27th receiver off the board. Atwell and Tolbert were castoffs who could never make it as their original teams’ WR3s. Theo Wease Jr., Terrace Marshall Jr., Tahj Washington … it’s a bunch of names, not much intrigue. If you’re looking for explosiveness, the options are Malik Washington and Atwell. If you’re looking for experience in Miami, it’s Malik Washington and Wease. If you’re looking for versatility, it’s Malik Washington (22 carries in two years) and Coleman (19 carries in college). We might not get any fantasy value out of the Miami receivers in 2026. But if there’s one, my choice is Malik Washington.