Miami Dolphins Predictions for 2021

Miami Dolphins – Best Bets 2021

2020 Miami Dolphins Review

The intrigue for the 2020 season started for the Dolphins when they drafted Tua Tagovailoa in the 2020 NFL Draft. Tua was coming off a major hip injury when he was the starting quarterback for the Alabama Crimson Tide. The odds were against Tua to start the season as the quarterback. Due to COVID-19 Tua did not get a full offseason program and little time to learn the Dolphins playbook. Therefore, the Dolphins had to rely on veteran journeyman Ryan Fitzpatrick aka Fitzmagic.

Ryan Fitzpatrick led the Dolphins to .500 record thru their bye week. The Dolphins managed to finish their final 10 games with a 7-3 record and just missing the playoffs. However, the Dolphins were optimistic that the future with Tua as the quarterback will create excitement and have the Dolphins competing with hope at the quarterback position.

What’s New for 21/22

As I mentioned above Tua will take over as the starting quarterback duties for the Miami Dolphins. The Dolphins also drafted Alabama wide receiver Jaylen Waddle in the 2021 NFL Draft. However, the Dolphins lost a few key pieces on the defensive side of the ball. Shaq Lawson, Bobby McCain, Kamu Grugier-Hill, and Kyle Van Noy all were either traded or signed with a new team.

Offensively, the Dolphins added speed wide receiver Will Fuller IV from the Houston Texans. In addition, the Dolphins added backup quarterback Jacoby Brissett to back up Tua. There are concerns for the offensive line for the Dolphins coming into the 2021 NFL season, but all eyes will be on this offense with Tua as the quarterback and the depth of wide receivers on this team.

Strength of Schedule

The Dolphins face the 10th easiest schedule according to their opponent regular season win totals. However, in the first two weeks of the season the Dolphins have two division games, Week 1 on the road against the New England Patriots and Week 2 at home against the Buffalo Bills. Furthermore, the AFC East division has matchups against the lowly AFC South and the NFC South.

The Dolphins face well below average pass and rush defenses this season. In fact, the Dolphins face 10 rush defenses this season that are well below average. Lastly, the Dolphins have a stretch of games from Week 9-15 where they play five out of six games at home, which includes a week 14 bye.

Season Odds

Super Bowl +3500

AFC +1800

AFC East +350

To Make Playoffs +105

O/U 9.5

I certainly do not see the Dolphins competing for Super Bowl this year, let’s get that out of the way. The division is intriguing, if all things go well for the Dolphins. However, I still need to see Tua do it for a full season before I can get behind him and this team. Furthermore, the Dolphins have the 28th rank offensive line coming into this season. I am not sure why the Dolphins did not invest more in building an offensive line to give protection to Tua. Despite winning 10 games last year, the offensive line and running back position is rankest amongst the bottom. As a result, that puts tons of pressure on Tua to carry this team.

Best Bet: Miami Dolphins Under 9.5 Wins

Miami Dolphins Player Prop Bets

Will Fuller IV – O/U 875.5 Receiving Yards

Will Fuller has dealt with injuries all throughout his young career. In fact, over the last three seasons, Fuller has only played in 29 out of 48 potential regular season games. Furthermore, Fuller will miss the first game on the regular season due a suspension dating back to last season because of PED use. In addition, this wide receiver and tight end group has tons of depth. I believe there are too many mouths too feed. DaVante Parker, Jaylen Waddle, Mike Gesicki, and Adam Shaheen are all guys who can perform for this team. Asking Fuller to get close to 900 receiving yards may be a tall order. Especially since he has only exceeded this number once in his career which was last season with the Houston Texans and Deshaun Watson as the quarterback and arguably Fuller as the #1 receiver.

Best Bet: Will Fuller IV Under 875.5 Receiving Yards

Myles Gaskin – O/U 750.5 Rushing Yards

Myles Gaskin was a bit of revelation for the Dolphins last season. Last season in 10 games, Gaskin rushed for 584 yards averaging 4.11 yards per carry. Dolphins did bring in Malcolm Brown to the back field but I believe Gaskin can be a running back who can get close to 1,000 rushing yards. As I mentioned above, Dolphins face a well below average rush defenses. Gaskin certainly has the potential and showed flashes last season.

Best Bet: Myles Gaskin Over 750.5 Rushing Yards

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Miami Dolphins Fantasy Preview

The Dolphins drafted Jaylen Waddle in this years NFL Draft. There are reports that Tua and Waddle have picked up their chemistry they had when the two played together in Alabama. I believe this is important for Tua to chemistry with a receiver he is familiar with. Waddle may be a stand out in the Dolphins receiving group and a stand out WR2 or WR3 for fantasy teams.

With upgrades to the receiving group there has to be a drop off for someone on the Dolphins offense. SGPN Fantasy Football expert, Scott Simpson highlights in his Fantasy Football article that Mike Gesicki may take the fall on the sword. I am not sure that Gesicki will be a TE1, there may be better options as he highlights in his post.