The Miami Dolphins sure looked like they were set for a massive reset last season. Mike McDaniel finished at 8-9, Tua Tagovailoa missed six games with a concussion, and Tyreek Hill was actively tweeting, “Please, I would like to leave Miami, for the love of god get me out of here.” That last one might have been an exaggeration. But, they instead chose to run it back. They lost Terron Armstead to retirement, and turned Jonnu Smith and Jalen Ramsey into Darren Waller and Minkah Fitzpatrick. But their offensive weaponry looks mostly the same. Let’s dive into the overdrafted, underdrafted, and sleeper player for the 2025 Miami Dolphins.
Underdrafted:
Jaylen Waddle, Wide Receiver (WR32, Pick 66 Overall)
Jaylen Waddle was the big loser in the De’Von Achane and Jonnu Smith breakout campaign last season. He cratered, going from WR21 to WR50, and most of it had to do with his target volume. Waddle dropped from 104 targets to 83, and a lot of this has to do with struggles against zone coverage, which should be the bread and butter for a guy like Waddle. Waddle had the same target separation versus man (1.77 versus 1.76 yards), but his zone separation cratered by a half-yard (2.49 versus 3.05). His win rate against zone dropped from 79.2% to 62.7%.
Waddle is still an impeccable route runner, as he “won” his route 50.3% of the time last year, which previously ranked fourteenth in the league, but it was a huge step down from his 2023 campaign, where he won his route two-thirds of the time. His 50% is both (1) among the league’s elite and (2) in line with his career norms. Should all things equalize, and Waddle get open again (which he should, given his route-running chops), then this could be a steal.
Overdrafted:
Jaylen Wright, Running Back (RB52, Pick 159 Overall)
Jaylen Wright doesn’t have any appeal outside of handcuffing De’Von Achane, and even if you handcuff Achane with Wright, you are taking a considerable step down in the event of an Achane injury. Wright was a day three pick and was wholly underwhelming in his rookie season. He doesn’t catch passes (six targets last year), and doesn’t get any goal-line work (zero carries inside the 15(!)).
I get that Achane developed into one of the most-used backs last year, but Wright isn’t coming for that throne. If you watch his runs, he only gets what’s blocked up the middle, and he struggles to evade tacklers when he bounces it outside. There’s not much here in terms of fantasy upside for Wright. If you want a Miami running back that bad, take Ollie Gordon two rounds later; at least he’s built to get the goal line role over Achane and Wright.
Sleeper:
Darren Waller, Tight End (TE26, Pick 196 Overall)
Darren Waller might just be washed; I am not ruling that out. But, the last time we saw him, he was on a 105-target, 74-catch, 782-yard pace in a partial season with the Giants. He was viewed as a bust because of his draft capital and lack of touchdowns (one TD in 12 games). But, with a year off to nurture his burgeoning music career, Waller could go back to having fantasy viability, especially if the new offense affords him the opportunities they gave his predecessor. Jonnu Smith had that classic eighth-year breakout for the Dolphins last season, posting 111 targets, 88 receptions, 884 yards, and eight scores. He had the third-most designed and first-read targets among tight ends last season. So, Waller will get a chance to contribute. By pure volume alone, he should end up a top-18 tight end and is firmly in the blob.
