The revamped Miami Dolphins are moving on from Mike McDaniel, as the Jeff Hafley era has begun. With Malik Willis earning a larger contract this offseason to be QB1, the offense will have an entirely new look to it as well, with De’Von Achane as the only key returner in a totally revamped offense.
While it will be a trying season for the Dolphins, they absolutely still have pieces that can help your 2026 dynasty rosters out. Playing in a negative game script more than not, the potential upside of Achane being fed a massive workload. Combine that with Willis’ dual-threat abilities, and the rookie wideouts being given a massive runway to work with, this has the makings of potential depth pieces that develop into options to round out your rosters.
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Miami Dolphins
2026 Coaching Staff: HC Jeff Hafley, OC Bobby Slowik, DC Sean Duggan
2025 Staff: HC Mike McDaniel, OC Frank Smith, DC Anthony Weaver
The final season of the McDaniel era went out with a whimper, as Miami finished last season with a 7-10 record. The end of the McDaniel era also marked the end of Tua Tagovailoa’s and Tyreek Hill’s tenure on the team, as Tagovailoa (Falcons) and Hill (hurt/free agent) are elsewhere/will not be returning to the Dolphins.
The offensive mind of McDaniel is tough to match in the NFL, as his schemes incorporate varied formations, looks, and window dressing, all facets of a successful scheme. But the personnel and inability to get back to the playoffs after his first two seasons as head coach cut his tenure short, as it was best for both the franchise and McDaniel to split.
Major Fantasy Implications
| Miami Dolphins | Fantasy Football Outlook |
| Offensive Philosophy | Heavy run focus mixed with core Shanahan passing concepts (mesh, hi-low, quick routes) |
| Biggest Winner | Malik Washington |
| Sneaky Winner | Greg Dulcich |
| Biggest Question | De’Von Achane’s receiving work |
| Dynasty Watch | Which rookie WR steps into WR2 role |
Coach Background
With Miami being the first NFL head-coaching role for Hafley, there are a lot of question marks that will need to be answered. Having come over from the Green Bay Packers, Hafley was a part of one of the best-run organizations in the league. Joining a rebuilding franchise like Miami is going to take time, and with that comes the need for him to put his fingerprints on as much as he can, as quickly as he can, to improve morale.
Hafley made the jump to the NFL after being the head coach at Boston College, where he helped lead impressive defensive units at the collegiate level. After making the jump to the NFL, Hafley revamped the Green Bay defense, and he will have his hands full doing that for Miami.
Expect Hafley to be very involved in the offensive game plan, as offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik has a history of becoming complacent when calling plays. Hafley had to be invested in all three sides of the ball when coaching in college, so look for him to do that with the Dolphins.
New Offensive Scheme
Slowik’s tenure calling plays for the Houston Texans was very inconsistent, as their offense had very high highs and very low lows. While he did a good job scheming Nico Collins open, he didn’t do C.J. Stroud enough favors, with the offense ultimately becoming stagnant and very one-dimensional down the stretch.
Shanahanian concepts are mixed into Slowik’s offensive playbook, as he marries passing concepts from Shanahan’s scheme (mesh, hi-low crossing patterns, calculated deep shots off of play-action) with a hybrid run scheme. The run game will likely incorporate a mix between zone and downhill plays (depending on personnel, situation, etc.), and these multiple looks/formations will allow for more of a natural play-action scheme built on the running game
The play-action scheme of off-zone running plays/formations would actually be a better fit for Willis, as getting his legs involved would help this offense become harder to stop, but expect multiple heavier formations to dominate Slowik’s game plan. Incorporating proven schematic elements (West Coast, Shanahan) into a scheme that needs to be simplistic rather than complex is exactly what this young, inexperienced offense needs.
While defenses will expect a heavy leaning on the run game, Slowik will need to work more of a mix into the weekly game plan to keep defenses guessing if they want to see some growth from this unit.
Passing Game Impact
Having been the senior passing game coordinator last year for Miami, Slowik oversaw a QB room that only threw for 3,314 yards last year, as Tagovailoa (14 games), Quinn Ewers (4 games), and Zach Wilson (4 games) all saw time in the lineup. Without having a lot to work with, Miami finished 25th in team receiving yards, 22nd in team yards per reception (10.32), and 12th in team catch rate (71.2 percent).
All of these numbers help paint a lukewarm picture for how the passing game will look in 2026, as Slowik will need to understand the limitations of Willis; it isn’t like Tagovailoa was all that good last year at chucking the pigskin around, but Willis showed last year with Green Bay that he is capable of sustaining an offense.
Among quarterbacks that saw action in at least four games, Willis ranked near the top of the list in average depth of target (aDOT) with 10.3 yards, his first-read percentage (80%), catchable throw percentage (94.3%), and completion percentage (85.7%). However, Willis does not throw to his RBs often, highlighted by a league-low 10.8% target rate to this position over the past three seasons.
These numbers showcase Willis’ strengths and weaknesses—areas that Slowik will need to build the Miami offensive scheme around. Expect Slowik to scheme up a passing game that focuses on easy concepts that get their best player (Achane) involved, which likely means a heavier involvement in routes run, motion, and lining up in different areas of the formation for Achane.
Running Game Impact
If Achane becomes more involved in the passing game, then does that mean some of his rushing workload could be handed off to Jaylen Wright, Ollie Gordon, or even Willis? It would not be surprising to see Achane still eclipse the 200-carry mark for the third year in a row, while also seeing his total percentage of team carries drop five to seven percent.
Slowik has not worked with a runner at QB, as Stroud is one of the few remaining young pocket passers in the NFL. With Willis, you can absolutely expect a designed QB run game to become an added tab in Slowik’s gameplan, which may take a bit of getting used to for both the coaching staff and the players. Of the 47 dropbacks for Willis in 2025, he turned 9 scrambles into 67 yards and a touchdown while only getting sacked 3 times.
The offensive line for the Dolphins will be under the microscope big time in 2026, as they will be tasked with paving the way for Slowik’s run game while keeping Willis upright long enough to jumpstart the passing game. The Dolphins were middle of the road in terms of their offensive line success, as they were 16th in sacks allowed (38) while averaging 4.73 yards per carry, fourth-best in 2025.
The success of Achane in a zone scheme is evident and obvious, but the development of Gordon and Wright to fill that valuable RB2 role will be an important storyline to follow this offseason. Back in 2024 (the final year of Slowik’s tenure as Houston OC), he leaned HEAVILY on Joe Mixon, to the tune of 245 carries, 1,016 yards, and over 4 yards per carry. Dameon Pierce was the RB2 that year, and while he was bigger than Mixon size-wise, he only earned one carry inside the 10-yard line all year (on only 40 total carries).
Slowik will likely be hyper-reliant on Achane and once again get him a major workload, but if one of the two likely backups can stand out, then that turns this run game into a three-faceted attack, with Willis falling in line as a (comfortable) second option.
Fantasy Storylines to Follow
Malik Washington
While he isn’t much in terms of a long-term prospect, Malik Washington has the depth chart in his favor to be Willis’ top target. Having not made major impressions in his first two years in Miami, Washington has the best chance of his career to make a name for himself, as he looks to step into the WR1 spot vacated by Jaylen Waddle.
- Washington’s 2025 season was the best of his young career, producing a 46/317/3 split while earning a 12.9% target percentage and a healthy 74.2% catch percentage
De’Von Achane
While Achane is the only fantasy-trustworthy player on this roster, how much can he be trusted? With McDaniel out of the picture, what should you expect in terms of a workload and scripted plays for Achane? Expect Slowik and the offense to utilize Achane more in the passing game, whether it is through more schemed-up looks or different alignments that match him up with opposing linebackers.
- Achane ran 11.2 percent of his routes (35 routes) while lined up out wide in 2025, only being targeted on 14 percent of his routes ran from this alignment
- Achane ran 26.3 percent of his routes (79 routes) while lined up in the slot, producing his best yards per route run (YPRR) based on alignment (1.77) and the third-highest YPRR for all RBs with at least 50 slot routes run
Rookie Wide Receivers
The trio of Chris Bell, Kevin Coleman, and Caleb Douglas will fight for playing time this year as they climb up the depth chart. Each of these three rookies specializes in something different, which gives all three a shot to see the field as the 2026 NFL season goes on.
- Bell is recovering from a torn ACL he suffered back in November 2025, and while he won’t be at full speed for minicamp, he will make his debut at some point in his rookie campaign.
- Coleman has the upper hand as the slot guy for Miami, as his speed and slipperiness give him a solid shot at competing right out of the gate, and he should benefit from Willis and his high-accuracy passing approach.
- Douglas is one of the tallest pass catchers on the roster, giving him a fighting chance to factor into a boundary WR role; the 2026 3rd rounder has a chance to impress early on in training camp, as this WR room is fully up for grabs.
Biggest 2026 Takeaways
The Dolphins are not going to be a great team in 2026, but they could absolutely be worth a weekly viewing, especially as their offense figures things out. The potential of both Achane and Willis to offer top-12 production more weeks than not is a real possibility, something that would help keep the Dolphins at least competitive in more of their games this season.
- Achane is what makes this offense thrive, and his passing-game work will be the biggest element of his game to follow this offseason. While expecting his rushing workload to take a small hit, he can easily make up for that if he just adds that production into his passing-game work.
- Willis is going to vulture a lot more rushing work than Achane rosters are going to be happy with, but that dual-threat ability gives Willis a weekly starting upside.
- Not mentioned much here is the involvement of TE Greg Dulcich, who has a great chance to be Willis’s safety valve and second-favorite target, all while not having any real competition.
- Washington is not locked into the WR1 spot, even though he clearly is the best receiver on this roster right now. Washington will absolutely get every chance to be THE guy for Willis in 2026, and if you can acquire him on the cheap, now is a great time to do so.
- Understanding how each of the three rookie wideouts will impact Miami’s 2026 season is tough to predict, but all three will absolutely see the field and get chances to succeed this year. If I had to pick which WR of the bunch had the best shot at becoming a real option this year, my money would be on Coleman, as his athleticism and speed are two elements that this Miami roster needs in the worst way.
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