The fantasy football landscape shifts each week, bringing fresh opportunities and unexpected challenges that separate the prepared from the pretenders. Savvy managers know that last week’s performance tells only part of the story, and diving deeper into the underlying metrics reveals the accurate picture.
This week presents some intriguing decisions. Here’s insight about key Buffalo Bills players heading into their matchup with the Miami Dolphins to help you craft a winning lineup.
Josh Allen, QB
Josh Allen has one (1) game this season in which he didn’t have multiple touchdown passes or multiple touchdown runs, and the Dolphins don’t exactly project as the type of defense to slow down the reigning MVP.
Allen has scored over 22 fantasy points in seven of his past eight games against Miami (78.6% completion rate with three TDs in Week 3 in this matchup) and tops my rankings at the position this week.
For DFS purposes, the QB slot could differentiate you from the field.
James Cook, RB
James Cook has cleared 100 rushing yards in five of his past seven games, and the two exceptions can be explained away rather easily.
- Week 5 vs. NE: The best run defense in the league
- Week 6 at ATL: 5.1 yards per carry (Buffalo trailed for 51-of-54 offensive snaps)
With just one reception since September, Cook’s role stands in the way of him joining the top tier at the running back position, but he’s on the next level of producer, and I’m expecting another huge performance on Sunday.
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Over his last three games against the Dolphins, Cook has averaged 20.4 points per game and 1.25 points per touch while scoring 46.1% over expectations during that stretch.
I think there are a Big Four at the running back position, and if I’m ranking them for the rest of the season, Cook is my RB5.
Joshua Palmer, WR
A lower-body injury (ankle/knee) suffered in Week 6 continues to sideline Josh Palmer, and given that he was hardly used in this system prior (no more than two receptions in a contest since Week 1), there’s no reason that you realistically need to track this situation.
The Bills are potent, but they are also awfully concentrated. It’s James Cook on the ground and the Khalil Shakir/Dalton Kincaid duo through the air. If you have one of them, you play them.
If not, you’re not worried about a Bills skill position player cracking your lineup.
Keon Coleman, WR
Keon Coleman has had one good quarter this season. That means that you’re betting far too much on pedigree and offensive environment if you’re reading this section.
Coleman has yet to develop secondary skills, and while he can still make big plays, defenses in 2025 are primarily built to prevent it.
His longest catch of the season is just 25 yards, and he’s averaging under 10 yards per catch. Coleman needs to show growth before we bank on it, especially in a matchup where the opponent has a track record of slowing his primary skill (one catch on 48 career routes run against the Fins).
Khalil Shakir, WR
Khalil Shakir is important to the Bills, and that keeps him in our starting lineups, though it’s rarely fun.
He accounted for three of Allen’s six completions on the first drive last weekend in a statement win over the Chiefs, a clear design from the coaching staff to stay on time and ahead of the chains.
That’s great.
But would a shot play every once in a while be the end of the world?
He finished Week 9 with seven catches and under one air yard. That’s hard to do.
The beauty in those short targets is the completion rate, and in a PPR setting, those are the type of “free” points that can win you a week. Shakir is among the best in the NFL in terms of picking up yardage after the catch, and that’s what Buffalo loves about him.
That said, without any receiver really establishing himself as a consistent deep threat, what would be the harm in the occasional double move from this slot machine?
I’m allowed to dream, aren’t I?
I don’t think we get that anytime soon, but his 6-8 highly efficient targets are going to land Shakir as a PPR WR2 more often than not. He caught every pass thrown his way and found the end zone in the Week 3 showdown with these Dolphins, and I think you can pencil in another 12-15 points with relative ease this week.
He’s the only Bills WR that should be rostered at this point.
Dalton Kincaid, TE
It seems to be an every-other-game thing with Dalton Kincaid, but the fact that he has the confidence of Josh Allen (15.2 yards per catch and an 81.8% catch rate) is good enough for me to lock him in weekly.
Last week, he benefited from the corner losing his footing and scored from 23 yards out, his fourth TD of the season. I’m more willing to buy into a target share that’s been at least 25% in three straight games than to panic about the lack of red-zone usage (zero touches inside the 20 since Week 1).
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Kincaid checks in as my TE7 this week and should be started in all formats. When these teams met in Week 3, he led Buffalo in catches (five), targets (six), receiving yards (66), and was responsible for one of Josh Allen’s three touchdown passes.
The scoring is likely to regress over time, but as long as his efficiency remains and the role doesn’t change significantly, I see no reason to consider him anything other than a lineup lock.
