The Dolphins passing game has been an unstoppable big play machine since the start of last season, and now it looks like their running game might be following suit. As if the Dolphins needed another weapon.
De'Von Achane had his coming out party Sunday, as the Dolphins completely overwhelmed the Broncos, and it looks like he might need to be the next must-add player on the Fantasy Football waiver wire. Achane rushed for 203 yards on 18 carries, with two touchdowns – including a 67-yarder to get the Dolphins to 70 points on the day – and was active in the passing game as well, catching four for 30 yards and a couple of scores on what were cleverly designed shovel passes to Achane in the red zone.
Obviously, the Dolphins were dominating the Broncos, putting up an NFL-record 726 yards, including 350 on the ground. And Achane wasn't alone in putting up a huge game, as Raheem Mostert also scored four touchdowns and had 142 yards from scrimmage, while Tyreek Hill only had one touchdown along with 157 yards on nine catches. This was a game where the Broncos were just totally overmatched, and Achane certainly benefited from that, to be sure.
But we're also talking about a running back who showed three-down skills in college and ran 4.32 40-yard dash at the combine, so it wouldn't be fair to say he was just a product of the system. Though, to be clear: The System, in this case, is an offense that entered Sunday averaging 462.5 yards in the first two games and had generated three rushing touchdowns for Mostert.
However you want to dole out credit here, I think the point is obvious: There might be plenty of room in this Dolphins offense for Achane and Mostert to thrive. And both bring exactly the kind of big-play ability the Dolphins clearly look for when building their offense, and I'd bet we're going to see double-digit touches most weeks moving forward for both of them as Mike McDaniel looks to make use of yet another fun weapon.
Achane may not have another game this good all season, but he's still looking like an absolute must-add option on waiver wires heading into Week 4. He should have standalone value even alongside Mostert, but the real upside here comes in case something happens to Mostert – a back who has missed significant time with injuries pretty much every season of his career. Achane has a role on maybe the best offense in the NFL, and that has plenty of value in and of itself; he's also one injury away from being the lead back in that offense, and that could carry top-12 upside.
There aren't going to be many chances to get a piece of this Dolphins offense on waivers this season, but Achane is available in 43% of CBS Fantasy leagues right now. That number should be roughly zero by the time waivers run this week.
Here's who we're going to be looking at adding heading into Week 3 of the Fantasy Football season.
Dell made some waves with his play in training camp and then the preseason, and he's suddenly looking like a must-roster (and maybe must-start) WR in Fantasy after just three games. The Texans eased him in during Week 1, but he saw his role grow in Week 2 with Noah Brown placed on IR; he might have emerged as the team's top target in Week 3. He ran routes on 25 of 31 dropbacks Sunday, per TruMedia, and he garnered a team-high seven targets, turning them into five catches for 145 yards and a touchdown, a 68-yarder that showed some big-play, down-the-field potential. Dell has some competition in the form of veteran Robert Woods as well as Nico Collins (who I'd still bet on being the top target in the passing game, despite only three targets Sunday), but he's also an ascending player who is already showing the ability to make plays. He should be rostered in all Fantasy leagues at this point.
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And hey, maybe the guy throwing Dell the ball deserves some credit at some point. Stroud now has consecutive multi-touchdown games and has thrown for 664 yards on 8.6 yards per attempt over the past two weeks. The Texans have been surprisingly pass-heavy in Stroud's first three starts, and even Sunday, when they beat the Jaguars by 20, they dropped back to pass 31 times while running just 25 times. Stroud has looked excellent so far, his coaching staff clearly trusts him, and he might actually have better weapons than expected, too. With bye weeks coming up, Stroud might actually be worth starting moving forward. I did not expect to see that this early.
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Johnston has been pretty much a non-factor through his first three career games, with just 26 scrimmage yards while running fourth pretty consistently among the Chargers wide receivers. However, he may be forced into a larger role moving forward after Mike Williams left Sunday's game with a knee injury. "Next man up" doesn't always work in Fantasy Football, especially when it comes to the passing game, but in this case, it's worth rolling the dice on a first-round WR who could be in line for a bigger role, replacing a player who does a lot of the same things in the offense that Johnston should be able to do, at least in theory. That doesn't necessarily mean Johnston is going to be a useful Fantasy option – I certainly wouldn't start him in Week 4 against the Raiders unless I was absolutely desperate – but I'd rather be a week early on adding him than a week late and miss my opportunity.
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We haven't seen the big breakout from Musgrave yet, but Sunday was the best game of his young career so far. With the Packers forced to throw 44 times, Musgrave earned a career-high eight targets, good for second on the team, catching six of them for 49 yards. The 8.2 yards per catch is pretty disappointing, but Musgrave was really close on a big play – potentially a long touchdown – that Love just overthrew him on. That's been a bit of a recurring theme through the first three games, as that duo has been just a bit off on a few deep throws that could have resulted in touchdowns. You have to think they'll get on the same page moving forward, and Musgrave has been involved enough in the offense that he's worth betting on even as things stand.
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It looks like Winston is going to get a real chance to start for the Saints at least in Week 4, and possibly beyond, after Derek Carr was forced from Sunday's game with a shoulder injury. Winston entered Sunday's game in the third quarter and passed for 101 yards on 16 attempts, which was hardly noteworthy, of course. But we've seen Winston be a useful Fantasy option before, and the Saints have been more pass-heavy so far this season than they were last year, and with a healthy Michael Thomas and Alvin Kamara returning from suspension in Week 4, should have better weapons than they've had in a long time. Winston could be a viable starting Fantasy option if Carr has to miss some time.
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