The Miami Dolphins are quietly leading the AFC East and in great position to make the playoffs. Much of that has to do with the emergence of Tua Tagovailoa and the Dolphins passing game. But fantasy managers have also been reaping the benefits of Miami's zone running scheme.
Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel brought the system with him from San Francisco. But that wasn't all he brought. Raheem Mostert signed with the Dolphins during the offseason. Then, Miami traded for Jeff Wilson Jr., both of whom were recently effective runners for the 49ers.
Mostert essentially took the job from Chase Edmonds, who was traded away midseason. He had become a reliable RB2 for fantasy owners until the Wilson Jr. acquisition. But over the last two games, it's been Wilson Jr. who has been getting the lions share of the snaps; and therefore the production.
Prior to the Dolphins' Week 11 bye, Mostert picked up a knee injury. It was not believed to be serious. However, in their first practice coming out of the bye week, Mostert was not there. That's certainly concerning and sets up Wilson Jr. nicely for a monster week.
Dolphins RB Raheem Mostert (knee) did not practice Wednesdayhttps://t.co/qpEoqC6eN5 pic.twitter.com/i7JeMr685p
— Around The NFL (@AroundTheNFL) November 23, 2022
The Dolphins face the Houston Texans on Sunday. The Texans are allowing 178.9 rushing yards per game, which is dead last by a country mile. There is a saying in football that “you can drive a truck through that hole.” They were referring to the Texans rush defense.
If Wilson Jr. gets the backfield all to himself, you should upgrade him to RB1 status. If Mostert does indeed play, both backs can be viewed as low-end RB2's. With Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle forcing defenses to drop their safeties, Dolphins running backs will continue to see light boxes.