The Miami Dolphins have used a mid-round NFL draft pick on a running back each of the past two years, and with 10 picks later this month, it’s quite possible the team could find another one in the middle or late rounds.
De’Von Achane is a speedster who saw plenty of work in his second season and continues to grow heading into Year 3. Jaylen Wright was seldom used as a rookie last season, but this will be a key offseason of development for him in order to produce more as a second-year player.
Achane, a third-round pick in 2023, and Wright, a fourth-rounder in 2024, form the returning duo at tailback for the Dolphins after they released veteran Raheem Mostert and brought in Alexander Mattison.
Of course, Miami also brings back valued fullback Alec Ingold, who can help pave the way for Dolphins ball carriers when he’s in the game.
The Dolphins need to improve their run game in 2025, after they ranked 28th in rushing average last season, at 4.0 yards per carry. That’s a far cry from the top spot of 5.1 yards per attempt averaged in 2023 with the Mostert and Achane combination reeling off big runs and also leading the league with 27 rushing touchdowns as a team for the sixth rushing offense overall.
Much of the workload — probably too much — was on Achane. He had 281 touches, a whopping figure for his 188-pound frame, between 203 rushing attempts and 78 receptions.
Achane averaged 4.5 yards per rush to total 907 last season and went for 592 receiving yards. It wasn’t as electric as his 7.8 yards per carry as a rookie, a record in the Super Bowl era for any season with a minimum of 100 rushing attempts, but it was still plenty productive from a numbers standpoint.
He just needs some of the burden taken off of him, while he can also stand to make strides with his vision at times, to see the hole and use his blazing speed to burst through it for big gains.
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With the Dolphins offense and run game so dependent on finding the big play, where Miami must improve in 2025 is extending drives with short-yardage conversions, third-and-1 and fourth-and-1, in particular.
Wright can be a physical runner at 210 pounds, with the speed coach Mike McDaniel loves to boot. He will look to do more than the 68 carries for 249 yards he had as a rookie whom the Dolphins traded this year’s third-round pick to draft in last year’s fourth round.
If he learns the offense the way he should with a second season in the system, he could be the rusher who relieves Achane of the big rushing workload, possibly opening him up to do even more in the pass game next season.
Wright would likely be in a competition for those No. 2 running back reps with Mattison, who turns 27 in June and is a bulldozer at 220 pounds.
At his size and given that he has converted 16 of 19 career rushing attempts on third- or fourth-and-1 for first downs, he can present an answer in the short yardage, where Miami has its biggest need on the ground. Mattison has also been a capable pass-catcher in his career.
His 3.2 yards per carry last season with the Las Vegas Raiders, though, is not favorable, and it would be disappointing for Wright to not assure himself of a greater role against Mattison in most down and distances.
With just three running backs on the roster, Miami certainly has room to add at the position to its 90-man group in the offseason and training camp.
As Mostert ended up signing with the Raiders, the Dolphins’ other running back from 2024, Jeff Wilson Jr., remains a free agent who is willing to re-join Miami.
With a number of options deep in the draft, the Dolphins could wait until next month to make any other free agent acquisitions after seeing what they end up with from the rookie class.
Previously addressed
Dolphins’ McDaniel loves to develop talent, but did it cloud his judgment on backup QB decision?
The Miami Dolphins have used a mid-round NFL draft pick on a running back each of the past two years, and with 10 picks later this month, it’s quite possible the team could find another one in the middle or late rounds.
De’Von Achane is a speedster who saw plenty of work in his second season and continues to grow heading into Year 3. Jaylen Wright was seldom used as a rookie last season, but this will be a key offseason of development for him in order to produce more as a second-year player.
Achane, a third-round pick in 2023, and Wright, a fourth-rounder in 2024, form the returning duo at tailback for the Dolphins after they released veteran Raheem Mostert and brought in Alexander Mattison.
Of course, Miami also brings back valued fullback Alec Ingold, who can help pave the way for Dolphins ball carriers when he’s in the game.
The Dolphins need to improve their run game in 2025, after they ranked 28th in rushing average last season, at 4.0 yards per carry. That’s a far cry from the top spot of 5.1 yards per attempt averaged in 2023 with the Mostert and Achane combination reeling off big runs and also leading the league with 27 rushing touchdowns as a team for the sixth rushing offense overall.
Much of the workload — probably too much — was on Achane. He had 281 touches, a whopping figure for his 188-pound frame, between 203 rushing attempts and 78 receptions.
Achane averaged 4.5 yards per rush to total 907 last season and went for 592 receiving yards. It wasn’t as electric as his 7.8 yards per carry as a rookie, a record in the Super Bowl era for any season with a minimum of 100 rushing attempts, but it was still plenty productive from a numbers standpoint.
He just needs some of the burden taken off of him, while he can also stand to make strides with his vision at times, to see the hole and use his blazing speed to burst through it for big gains.
With the Dolphins offense and run game so dependent on finding the big play, where Miami must improve in 2025 is extending drives with short-yardage conversions, third-and-1 and fourth-and-1, in particular.
Wright can be a physical runner at 210 pounds, with the speed coach Mike McDaniel loves to boot. He will look to do more than the 68 carries for 249 yards he had as a rookie whom the Dolphins traded this year’s third-round pick to draft in last year’s fourth round.
If he learns the offense the way he should with a second season in the system, he could be the rusher who relieves Achane of the big rushing workload, possibly opening him up to do even more in the pass game next season.
Wright would likely be in a competition for those No. 2 running back reps with Mattison, who turns 27 in June and is a bulldozer at 220 pounds.
At his size and given that he has converted 16 of 19 career rushing attempts on third- or fourth-and-1 for first downs, he can present an answer in the short yardage, where Miami has its biggest need on the ground. Mattison has also been a capable pass-catcher in his career.
His 3.2 yards per carry last season with the Las Vegas Raiders, though, is not favorable, and it would be disappointing for Wright to not assure himself of a greater role against Mattison in most down and distances.
With just three running backs on the roster, Miami certainly has room to add at the position to its 90-man group in the offseason and training camp.
As Mostert ended up signing with the Raiders, the Dolphins’ other running back from 2024, Jeff Wilson Jr., remains a free agent who is willing to re-join Miami.
With a number of options deep in the draft, the Dolphins could wait until next month to make any other free agent acquisitions after seeing what they end up with from the rookie class.
Previously addressed
Dolphins’ McDaniel loves to develop talent, but did it cloud his judgment on backup QB decision?
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