Durham Smythe DVOA, Advanced Stats, & Fantasy Rankings

The Miami Dolphins announced on Friday that they released tight end Durham Smythe and cornerback Kendall Fuller. Smythe was originally drafted by the Dolphins in the fourth round in 2018 out of Notre Dame. The 29-year-old caught 132 of his 175 targets for 1,228 yards and only three touchdowns in his 112 games (74 starts) with the team over seven seasons, but now he'll head to the open market after catching just nine passes for 53 yards and no scores on 17 targets in 17 games in 2024. He played just 32% of the offensive snaps last year after the addition of Jonnu Smith. Miami saves $2.175 million in salary cap space with the move. Fuller, 30, suffered multiple concussions and a knee injury that limited him to 11 games in 2024 in his first year in Miami after he began his career with eight years with the Washington Commanders. His release clears $2.761 million against the cap with $5.412 million in dead money.

The Miami Dolphins restructured the contracts of tight end Durham Smythe, fullback Alec Ingold and defensive tackle Zach Sieler on Monday. Coupled with the conversion on cornerback Jalen Ramsey, the Dolphins were able to clear $28.78 million to get under the 2024 salary cap. The 28-year-old Smythe is a blocking first tight end who also served as the team's primary pass-catching tight end in 2023, finishing the year with 35 receptions on 43 targets for 366 yards and no touchdowns. Tight ends haven't been a big part of head coach Mike McDaniels' offense, and there's no reason to expect that to change entering the 2024 season. Smythe should be avoided in most fantasy drafts this fall after the Dolphins added Jonnu Smith to the TE room this offseason.

Miami Dolphins tight end Durham Smythe remained far off of the fantasy radar in a disappointing wild-card loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on Saturday. He ended the game with three catches on four targets for 12 yards and his longest play was just a five-yard catch. The 28-year-old only registered three games with more than three receptions and ended the year with only 366 yards on 35 receptions and no touchdowns. He only managed to get four more yards than Mike Gesicki in his last season with the Dolphins, but he at least managed five touchdowns. Smythe doesn't seem to be worth a draft pick in fantasy leagues next year unless it's a very deep league that uses almost all of the starters in the league.

Miami Dolphins tight end Durham Smythe has been a non-factor in fantasy football this season and that doesn't seem likely to change now that the stakes are even higher in the NFL playoffs. Smythe posted one double-digit fantasy outing all year in PPR formats and put together just two games of 50 or more yards. He also only collected two games with more than three receptions and four games with more than three targets. The Kansas City Chiefs have more than capable defenders against opposing tight ends and they've given up the fifth-fewest fantasy points to opposing pass-catchers. All of that means Smythe should be avoided in DFS lineups unless anyone is trying to make a dart-throw decision.