If Lamar Miller chooses to re-sign with the Dolphins his new head coach might boost his value
The Super Bowl is still a few weeks away from being played, but there are major fantasy changes happening that will have a big effect on next season. With every new head coach that is named, we can start to forecast expectations for offenses under new direction in 2016. Perhaps the most important for fantasy is new coach Adam Gase with the Miami Dolphins.
It’s always difficult to predict how a coordinator will fare the first time he takes a head coaching job. The hope with an offensive minded coach like Gase is that the offense turns out exactly how he wants. We have three seasons of data from Gase as an offensive coordinator to help us project what the Dolphins offense may look like.
The biggest question as far as personnel at this point is the free agency status of Lamar Miller. A rushing offense under Gase has finished no lower than 12th in attempts and 15th in yards. Miller would be arguably the most talented running back Gase has had at his disposal outside of Matt Forte.
The passing game has QB Ryan Tannehill and WRs Jarvis Landry and DeVante Parker already in place. While in Chicago, the Bears ranked 25th in pass attempts and 23rd in yards. This is slightly misleading as so many of the pass catchers on the Bears missed time, most notably Alshon Jeffery. Bears’ QB, Jay Cutler, was able to have his fourth best season in yards and TDs. While in Denver, Gase had QB Peyton Manning and had a top-10 passing offense both seasons. Denver also finished first in yards and points in 2013 while finishing fourth in yards and second in points in 2014.
No one around the NFL is going to confuse Ryan Tannehill for Peyton Manning anytime soon, but if the Dolphins have an above average running back like Lamar Miller and talented wideouts like Landry and Parker, Tannehill could be a very effective QB. The weapons on the Miami Dolphins now have an excellent offensive mind as a coach. A top-12 total offense is within reach and Miami Dolphins players will be a popular choice in 2016.
Adam Strangis is a correspondent at FantasyPros. To read more from Adam, check out his archive.
