The Miami Dolphins are in the spotlight right now and it has nothing to do with what's going on for the team on the field, but there is still a game to be played on Monday night football and with the Jonathan Martin and Richie Incognito scandal going on, Lamar Miller, Charles Clay and Daniel Thomas all have their fantasy values hurt.
The team has been terrible rushing the ball this season and protecting quarterback Ryan Tannehill and that lowers the fantasy value of everyone involved, including the running backs in Miller and Thomas, who have been pretty terrible anyway. Miller has actually come on in recent weeks and he could be a solid option going forward, but playing without the whole one side of the offensive line likely will be an issue, as both Martin and Incognito are gone from the team for the time being. The scandal is terrible, but let's keep it to football, as Miller is the top option for the team heading into Monday night, while Clay has been a solid tight end and Thomas has been a mixed bag.
Miller had his best game of the season last week with over 100 yards rushing and over his last five games he has been mostly consistent apart from one 15 yard performance against the Baltimore Ravens. The team has lost four of five, but it's not Miller's fault, as he had over 85 yards in each of the past two weeks and he has also been solid catching the ball out of the backfield, making at least one catch in the last three games and putting up nine in his last five games.
Miller went for 105 yards on just 15 carries against the Bengals last week and the Buccaneers were terrible last Sunday at stopping the run and now Miller has over 230 yards in the past three games and is averaging a solid five yards per carry. While his value could be hurt with the scandal, the team should continue to give him the ball on Monday night. Thomas could get a boost as well, but owners shouldn't expect too much out of him. Miller has been the leader over the past few weeks, hitting double digit carries in three out of five games and over the past two weeks he has had at least 20 touches in both games.
Clay has been a solid receiver and he has three touchdowns in the past five games and he ranks in the top 10 in tight ends in fantasy points and he has been solid this season. He had 32 catches for 363 yards and three scores and after having three catches for 22 yards last week, Tannehill could look to him more as a check down option after being harassed, ha, by defenses due to the offensive line. Clay could be an option on Monday against the Buccaneers. Thomas had 12 carries last week and 12 two games ago and he had just nine against the Patriots and while he has been solid over the past three games, he is clearly the backup to Miller now and is only a marginal fantasy player to start.
