Attention Fantasy Managers: Mike McDaniel Explains the Miami Dolphins’ F Position

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Mike McDaniel freaked out the fantasy football community — not to mention Miami Dolphins fans who simply love the X’s and O’s part of the game — with his first depth chart of 2024.

Not the fact that he named 12 starters on offense. He did that all last year.

Rather, there was one line in particular that got people all agitated: The mysterious F position, which lists Alec Ingold (a fullback) as the starter and Jonnu Smith (a tight end) as his primary backup.

What Is the F Position in the Miami Dolphins Offense?

Certainly, those players have a lot in common. They both can do the dirty work and can also make plays in the run and pass games. They are two of the most versatile members of McDaniel’s offense, which unlocks boundless possibilities.

So what exactly is the F?

PFN asked McDaniel. Here was his answer, edited slightly for brevity and clarity:

“It means a lot of things. For our team in particular, I think everyone’s been talking about the different types of weapons we have and the good football players that we have, that have a multitude of skill sets.

“So in that, when you say starters to me, you’re talking about a caliber of player and there’s about, you know, 15 of those guys on our team.

“… For our football team, in the F position, the starting point is you are inside the X and Z away from the tight end.

“And then, whether you’re playing any iteration of those formations, 2-by-2, 3-by-1, 1-by-3, or whatever, there’s five eligibles. Any one of those, you kind of get more of a sense, you are just either in the blocking core, maybe you’re in the perimeter, maybe you’re doing both.

“Most of the time, our fullback, by definition of what a fullback is known to be, isn’t playing fullback. He’s playing receiver or tight end or, you know, a multitude of things.

“For us, F can be a third-down target, can be a core blocking tool, an asset, a guy that you’re trying to get the ball to in space.

“Maybe if you have some players that occupy a lot of space that defenses have to regard, you know, F’s can take advantage of underneath spaces and defense. And really, it’s not fair to categorize certain guys as just one thing. I think the strength of our offense is that we have a bunch of people that are cross-training because the idea is everyone’s moving in unison.

“So to move together and to appropriately execute your job relative to your teammates, that multiplicity is endless. So what is an F? He’s not the Y, Z, or X, and he’s a good football player that probably has some skills that the football team can benefit from.”