Week 16 Dolphins Fantasy Football Outlook with Quinn Ewers at QB: Jaylen Waddle, Darren Waller and More

The Miami Dolphins have had a pretty rough season. They lost Tyreek Hill early on and didn't do much winning in the early going. They turned things around a bit, but were still eliminated from postseason contention after a loss in week 15.

With nothing but draft position to play for over the next couple weeks, the Dolphins decided to bench quarterback Tua Tagovailoa for Quinn Ewers.

Let's take a look at what that move does for the rest of the Dolphins' fantasy football assets heading into week 16.

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Quinn Ewers Fantasy Outlook

Ewers was the team's seventh-round pick in the most recent draft. He went 231st overall.

He spent the season on the roster, but as the No. 3 QB behind Tagovailoa and Zach Wilson. So it was a bit of a surprise to see coach Mike McDaniel go with Ewers over Wilson or Tagovailoa for week 16.

The coach must have seen something from him in practice, as he's only appeared in one regular season game this year. Ewers played 12 snaps against the Browns back in week 7. He was 5-of-8 passing for 53 yards, while not adding anything as a rusher - Ewers was sacked twice and also fumbled twice.

The Dolphins are playing the Bengals in week 16. Cincinnati is one of the more favorable defensive matchups this season, so it's a chance for the rookie to settle in a bit and maybe make a name for himself.

The Bengals are a top-three fantasy matchup for a quarterback. With no career starts, and just garbage time usage so far, Ewers is an extremely risky fantasy starting option, even in deeper leagues. 

The matchup helps Ewers be ranked 27th for the coming week. He's above Philip Rivers, Gardner Minshew, Shedeur Sanders, Brady Cook and whoever starts for the Raiders.

Only consider Ewers in the deepest of leagues, but this matchup could help him deliver at least a decent fantasy score.

Running Back Fantasy Outlooks

De'Von Achane has been the top fantasy player for the Dolphins all season, and the QB change won't affect that. Opposing defenses will be able to key in a bit more on Achane though, so things could be a touch more challenging for him down the stretch.

The QB switch led to me ranking Achane fourth among fantasy back for week 16. He has the best fantasy matchup possible, so that should tell you how I feel about Ewers starting.

Achane is a must-start fantasy back every week, so definitely don't consider sitting him ever. What I'm saying is that he might need a lot of touches in some of these upcoming games to deliver like he has most of the season.

It also wouldn't be crazy to see Achane's workload decreased a bit now with nothing to play for. Ollie Gordon and Jaylen Wright have been the top backup RBs behind Achane.

The great matchup this weekend gives the backup RBs a chance to contribute a bit, especially if Miami really leans on its backfield, and Achane's workload is a bit lower than usual.

With two notable backs and no clear leader between the two, I'm not a big fan of starting either of them in many fantasy leagues. If they get enough work this week, they could be better options for the final couple games, so keep them in mind, especially in deeper fantasy setups.

Wide Receiver Fantasy Outlooks

Jaylen Waddle is the team's top wideout with Hill out of the picture. Malik Washington has been the next-best wideout, but he's just a deep, deep league fantasy option.

The QB switch to Ewers is a hit to Waddle's fantasy outlook, and I dropped him all the way to No. 22 for week 16.

Cincinnati is actually pretty good at slowing fantasy wideouts, so that's another reason why I'm not as high on Waddle this week. He's still a standard league starting option, but I'd feel a lot better starting him in deeper leagues this week.

Again, Washington is just a deep-league starting option, and in a tougher matchup, I don't like the idea of trying him in week 16.

I don't like the fantasy outlooks for any Miami receiver really, but with a QB change can come expanded roles and production for some.

It's worth tracking guys like Washington, Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, Cedrick Wilson and Dee Eskridge in case one of them steps up with Ewers now leading the show.

Tight End Fantasy Outlooks

Darren Waller was the team's top fantasy pass catcher this past week, with two touchdowns turning a good fantasy showing into a fantastic one.

Usually when a team makes a QB change, especially to a young guy, I think the tight ends are the ones who see their fantasy outlooks impacted the least.

There's a chance Waller still delivers plenty with Ewers calling the shots now. Julian Hill and Greg Dulcich are the next two tight ends who could factor in down the stretch, especially with no receivers outside Waddle being all that proven.

An elite matchup against the Bengals awaits, so I have Waller ranked ninth for week 16 as a result. I think he could be starting in any fantasy leagues, regardless of the status of your team.

That also gives Hill and Dulcich some deep-league starting appeal, even if they are more desperation plays.