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USATSI

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. -- With the regular season starting in a month, the last thing any team needs is an injury to a starting-caliber offensive player. Over two days of joint practices with the visiting Falcons, the Dolphins suffered three such injuries.

The most concerning one happened to wideout Jaylen Waddle on Wednesday. Miami's young receiver was slow to get up after making a catch and getting taken to the ground, holding his right side as he walked alongside trainers from the 30-yard line into the Dolphins' training facility.

Waddle has been a bright spot for the Dolphins this summer.

"Waddle has probably had one of the best camps on our team this year and it really started with OTAs from the first day he came, he showed up and he was locked in," Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa said after Wednesday's practice. "... I hope that it's just a couple days or whatever and I hope he gets better."

Through two seasons, Waddle has missed one game. If he suffered something along the lines of a fracture, he could be in jeopardy of missing another one or two to begin the regular season. If it's not as serious, Waddle will be ready to run amok as soon as Week 1. With a pre-injury Average Draft Position of 24th overall, according to FantasyPros, any dip would be considered a value in drafts happening during the first week of the preseason. In other words, taking Waddle in Round 3 would be a good thing as long as he's not somehow sidelined for months.

As for Waddle's quarterback, Tua Tagovailoa had the kind of up-and-down practices you might expect from a first- or second-year passer, not a fourth-year guy. He struggled toward the end of both days, throwing interceptions including one right into the arms of Atlanta safety Jaylinn Hawkins on a two-minute drill Wednesday. It felt like for every dime he dropped, he had an inaccurate throw to match, and he was not helped by an offensive line that gave up some pressures when it wasn't drawing penalties.

If Waddle's injury isn't long-term, Tagovailoa has the highest Fantasy upside of any quarterback you can find after pick No. 75 (Anthony Richardson and Dak Prescott are right on his tail). That's thanks to his receiving corps -- Waddle, Tyreek Hill and even Robbie Chosen (formerly Robbie Anderson) and Braxton Berrios, both of whom made some great plays with Tagovailoa and other Miami passers. Tagovailoa simply hasn't become the sharp, consistent passer that you'd expect a former top-five overall draft pick to be. And, he obviously carries some injury risk after his multiple concussions last year. For what it's worth, Tagovailoa looked much stronger than he did in 2022 and isn't shy about contact -- he even scrambled during an 11-on-11 drill on Wednesday, which isn't something a scared quarterback would do.

Tagovailoa remains a low-end Fantasy starter worth choosing around pick No. 100, but one who should be backed up by another quarterback. In one-QB leagues that could be anyone from Daniel Jones to Jared Goff to Matthew Stafford; in two-QB leagues that could be a player as deep as Mike White, who was lights-out in practice Wednesday as the real-life backup to Tagovailoa.

What about the run game?

Back to the Dolphins other injuries. Running back Raheem Mostert had a spectacular practice on Tuesday (two touchdown receptions) but wasn't in pads on Wednesday. Backfield mate Jeff Wilson had his left hand checked out after fumbling the ball against the Falcons in a drill. There was no word on whether either player had a meaningful issue, but their absences, which Fantasy managers have grown accustomed to, opened the door for rookie runner De'Von Achane to shine.

Achane already looked good on Tuesday, flashing on a perfect pass pro rep against a Falcons linebacker and then finishing a six-yard touchdown trot with physicality on a Falcons defender. On Wednesday, with Mostert out and Wilson sidelined, Achane popped on a nice cutback run and on a completion from White before making a diving catch on a 25-yard-ish heave from backup QB Skylar Thompson for a practice-ending touchdown in the back left corner of the end zone. He was mobbed by teammates for it.

A couple of practice highlights isn't enough to definitively say that Achane has moved into prime position to be the Dolphins' best running back this year. But he may have gained enough ground to make the Dolphins think twice about signing a free agent running back off the street.

But that's about it. In fact, Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel spoke to the benefits of having "fresh players on the field carrying the ball."

"Each dude has a different little niche within the offense, but all of them know the entire offense and they're all capable of running the ball," he said. "Some guys have some pass skill sets that we can utilize and some guys have really developed their pass skill sets this offseason. I think there's strength in versatility. ... The depth and the varied skills, I would say, are a strength of our team."

Achane's biggest strength is his speed, followed perhaps by his low mileage. A lack of experience is probably the biggest thing holding him back from being a notable weekly contributor, so he might be locked into a part-time role without consistent numbers. Sadly, the same can be said of every running back in Miami; Achane is simply the one who's young and fresh and has looked better-than-average at running, receiving and blocking.

If you draft Achane, be prepared to hold him longer than just a few weeks and potentially never see a pay-off for Fantasy. In fact, don't count on any Dolphins running back paying off meaningful dividends other than for a week or two as the season unfolds. It decidedly makes them all -- Achane, Wilson and Mostert -- late-round dart throws with Wilson, assuming he's healthy, being the best bet as a desperation starter for Fantasy managers who dare use him in road games Weeks 1 and 2 against the Chargers and Patriots.