One week after Malik Nabers and CeeDee Lamb went down, Tyreek Hill became the latest star receiver to suffer a devastating injury. The injury is heartbreaking for the Miami Dolphins and creates a rippling effect for his teammates' on-field and fantasy football production.
The biggest impacts were obvious as soon as Hill went down. Jaylen Waddle is clearly a big winner and has WR1 potential the rest of the year, while Malik Washington receives the biggest opportunity of his career. Waddle, who should already be owned in every league, now joins the ranks among the best receivers in fantasy football.
Hill's injury will also benefit De'Von Achane and Darren Waller from a fantasy football perspective. Like Waddle, both players will undoubtedly become a bigger part of the offensive game plan moving forward. Waller, in particular, made a huge impact in his Week 4 season debut.
However, the Dolphins' offense as a whole takes a hit with the loss of its top weapon. With it, Tua Tagovailoa‘s rest-of-season outlook takes a slight hit. While the southpaw still benefits from Miami's other elite assets in Mike McDaniel's creative offense, he loses his top deep threat and best big-play weapon.
There is a lot to break down from a fantasy football perspective when a player like Hill goes down. While nobody on the Dolphins can truly match Hill's production, several will become significant assets moving forward.
Dolphins RB De'Von Achane is a top-10 fantasy football stud
Jaylen Waddle is the obvious beneficiary of Tyreek Hill's injury, but De'Von Achane might receive the most significant fantasy football boost.
Waddle is the Dolphins' second-leading receiver on the year with 185 yards through four weeks. However, Achane actually has more targets and catches than he does, while tied for the team lead with two receiving touchdowns. The versatile running back's 25 targets and 19 catches have only been topped by Hill.
With Hill in the lineup, Achane has already been operating as the Dolphins' third-best receiver. With Hill sidelined, he becomes their de facto No. 2 receiver and the team's overall top offensive weapon.
Without much receiver depth behind Hill, McDaniel will need to get creative on offense. Achane has already been used as a receiver more than the typical running back, taking 37 snaps on the line — 27 at slot and 10 at receiver, per Pro Football Focus.
Whether out wide or from the backfield, Achane has run 95 routes through four games, averaging 23.75 pass-catching opportunities per week. Expect Achane to receive more touches — both on the ground and through the air — with Hill out, making him an elite fantasy football weapon moving forward.
Hill's injury could also impact Ollie Gordon II, who has already been a part of the Dolphins' game plan. Gordon will not benefit nearly as much as Achane, but expect a lot of two-running back looks from Miami in the coming weeks.
Darren Waller is back to fantasy football relevancy
What a return Darren Waller had in Week 4. After the confusing way he retired and suddenly returned, only to be inactive for the first three games due to conditioning, it is hard to imagine many fantasy football managers trusted him against the New York Jets.
However, those who did could not have felt better about the decision. Waller looked like his old self in his first game in nearly two years, catching three of his four targets for 27 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
The yard total was not there, but Waller only played 16 snaps in the victory. His usage is likely to increase each week, particularly given his effectiveness in his debut.
The most encouraging part of Waller's debut was his usage in the red zone. He received two targets inside the 20-yard line, including one designed play, and caught both for his pair of scores.
Waller's fantasy football resurgence is more of a coincidence than a direct result of Tyreek Hill's injury. But without the ‘Cheetah' in the lineup, Waller could emerge as Tua Tagovailoa's No. 2 or No. 3 target. Tagovailoa fed Jonnu Smith 111 targets in 2024, the second-most on the team, leading to a career-high 884 receiving yards for the Pro Bowl tight end and a team-high eight touchdowns.
Considering the poor state that tight end is in, Waller could immediately become a top-10 option at the position. He will likely be inconsistent to start, at least until he ramps up his activity level, but his Week 4 performance was too encouraging to ignore.
Big opportunity for Dolphins WR Malik Washington
Somebody has to replace Tyreek Hill in the starting lineup, and Malik Washington is the clear favorite. Washington is currently the Dolphins' fourth-leading receiver, tallying eight catches for 47 receiving yards through four weeks.
The numbers are modest, but Washington's role increased in Week 4 following Hill's injury. His usage remained the same, but the Dolphins drew up two designed plays for him — a behind-the-back end-around in the first half and a designed screen later in the game.
With Hill now out, Washington will be Miami's No. 2 receiver by default. He filled that role when Jaylen Waddle went down late in Week 15 of the 2024 season, playing over 60 percent of the offensive snaps in each of the final three weeks. Washington was on the field for 86.6 percent of the offensive plays in Week 15 and 86.67 percent in Week 16.
During those three weeks that Waddle missed, Washington averaged 3.67 catches for 29 receiving yards per game. There is hope that those numbers will increase under similar circumstances in year two.
It might not be huge, but if Washington is ever going to break out, now is the time. He is not worth running to the waiver wire for just yet, but he is certainly worth a bench stash in deep leagues.
