What to do with Myles Gaskin, Patrick Laird in Week 13 fantasy football

Saturday update: The Dolphins have activated Myles Gaskin off injured reserve. The team has not announced how carries will be split betwee Gaskin and Patrick Laird — and maybe Lynn Bowden Jr. — on Sunday, but with Salvon Ahmed, DeAndre Washington, and Matt Breida all unlikely to play, Gaskin should get a sizable workload and be worth a fantasy football start.

The Miami Dolphins running back situation is a bit of a mess heading into Week 13. Matt Breida has been placed on the Covid-19 injured reserve list and Salvon Ahmed (shoulder) and DeAndre Washington (hamstring) are both listed as doubtful on the final injury report. Ahmed got in three straight days of limited work while Washington got in limited work on Friday after nothing Wednesday and Thursday. Players with the doubtful tag rarely play.

That leaves the Dolphins with Patrick Laird and versatile wide receiver on their 53-man roster and Myles Gaskin on injured reserve. The team has had Gaskin at practice, and by all accounts he’s been practicing in full this week. The team has until 4 p.m. ET on Saturday to formally activate him from IR.

Fantasy Football analysis: Dolphins RBs Myles Gaskin, Patrick Laird, Lynn Bowden

It’s tough to tell what exactly the Dolphins plan is with these three. Bowden is all but assured of being active given how limited the depth chart is. If Gaskin is good to go, he could move right back into a work horse role. The question is if the team is comfortable giving him a big workload in his first game since Week 8. I suspect yes just because they don’t have many other choices. And against a Bengals defense that ranks 16th in fantasy points allowed to running backs, this could be a big upside opportunity.

Fantasy Start/Sit Recommendation

Start Gaskin as an RB2 or flex