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 Miami Dolphins players heading into their matchup with the Washington Commanders to help you craft a winning lineup.
Tua Tagovailoa, QB
Tua Tagovailoa had the two interceptions last week in the upset of the Bills, the fourth time in five games he has had at least as many INTs as TDs, but overall, I thought he played above his season average for the second time in three weeks.
The touchdown pass to Jaylen Waddle was a 38-yard dime, and his willingness to feed his WR1 since the Tyreek Hill injury is good to see. Waddle has at least five grabs in five of six games and has a 35+ yard catch in four of those games, a trend that has developed thanks to a versatile skill set.
Tagovailoa is doing what we need him to do for the pieces we trust in this offense (De’Von Achane is pacing for 83.3 receptions and is already over 1,100 scrimmage yards). Still, without rushing upside or passing aggression, there’s really no risk analysis that is going to work in favor of Miami’s signal-caller for fantasy managers.
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When Throwing Past The Sticks
- 2022: 117.0 passer rating, 2.6 TD/INT
- 2023: 109.3 passer rating, 1.4 TD/INT
- 2024: 92.3 passer rating, 1.0 TD/INT
- 2025: 67.4 passer rating, 0.6 TD/INT
It’s perfectly fair to say that we’ve seen some better play from Tagovailoa of late, but that doesn’t mean he should be starting for your fantasy team, even in a plus-matchup.
De’Von Achane, RB
De’Von Achane plays for a Dolphins team that hasn’t been in the news for positive on-the-field reasons for much of this season, and I think that has some overlooking just how good a player we are looking at.
Profile 1
- 36.1% over PPR expectations
- 25.3 PPR PPG
- 5.0 receptions per game
Profile 2
- 20.2% over PPR expectations
- 26.6 PPR PPG
- 4.2 receptions per game
Both of those résumés are obviously impressive, but can you place them?
I’ll buy you some time to guess.
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He ripped off a pair of impressive touchdown runs in the fourth quarter last weekend against the Bills, helping them get that upset to the finish line. The first was a 59-yard burst where he’s one of very few who cashes it in thanks to his rare blend of agility, power, and speed; the second a 35-yarder that iced the game.
With this island game, I hope that more people will be exposed to Achane than on a standard Sunday when plays are happening left and right. This is a player that I think could have a real case to be the top running back selected ahead of the 2026 season.
- Profile 1: Achane in wins or one-score games this season
- Profile 2: The best season of Todd Gurley’s career
Ollie Gordon II, RB
With Jaylen Wright getting run and Ollie Gordon healthy, neither needs to be rostered.
De’Von Achane isn’t producing elite fantasy numbers because of the situation; he is a special player in a featured role. Should he go down, we don’t have enough evidence that the backup (whichever young back gets the first crack at it) would have either of those things, making that player a committee option in a bad offense.
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Gordon or Wright will likely make my top 10 for handcuff running backs next season, should we get some clarity on the hierarchy, but as it stands for the rest of 2025, this is not a backfield I feel the least bit obligated to corner.
Jaylen Waddle, WR
Jaylen Waddle has made himself one of the most consistent fantasy assets at the position following the Tyreek Hill season-ending injury, and a struggling Commanders secondary doesn’t exactly profile as the type of unit to slow him down.
Ja’Marr Chase and Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
That’s the entire list of players riding a longer streak of games with 80+ receiving yards than Waddle (three), and he’s actually done it in three of his past six. We got reports pre-game last week that the Bills were trying to acquire him, and Miami certainly made a point of making them know what they missed out on.
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In the upset win, Waddle was targeted on four of Tua Tagovailoa’s first seven passes, a run that included a 38-yard score where even defensive pass interference couldn’t slow him.
Do I have my questions about the weekly upside of this offense?
I do, but not this weekend. Washington has allowed a receiver to hit 22 PPR points in four straight games and hasn’t held a leading WR under his season average since Week 2. Waddle is an easy lineup lock and would make for an interesting captain choice on the Showdown streets.