Dolphins RB De’Von Achane named team MVP amid historic 2025 season
A Pro Bowl berth. The second-most scrimmage yards in franchise history. And a league-high 5.7 yards per carry.
The Miami Dolphins’ De’Von Achane has already had a memorable 2025 season. It just got a lot better.
Achane was named the Dan Marino Most Valuable Player on Wednesday, tying a nice little bow on what has been the best season of his young career. Through 16 games, the former Texas A&M standout has rushed for 1,350 yards — the second-highest mark in franchise history behind Rickey Williams — and caught a team-leading 67 balls for 488 yards.
“It’s a great accomplishment,” Achane said. His greatest skill? Availability. “Just being able to be there for my team, play every game, play every down and that’s the most important thing.”
It’s no secret that Achane was circled on opposing teams’ scouting report. Still, he delivered, week in, week out.
“We always say ‘We got to beat the man in front of us,’” Achane said of his “go-to guy” mind-set. “So as long as we win our 1-on-1 matchup, no matter what the team knows we doing, you still got out there and stop it.”
While Achane’s numbers certainly rank high within the franchise, they also put him alongside the top running backs in the league. His 1,350 rushing yards rank fifth, higher than the San Francisco 49ers’ Christian McCaffery (eighth) and the Detroit Lions’ Jahmyr Gibbs. His 1,838 scrimmage yards also rank fifth, higher than Gibbs (seventh) and the Baltimore Ravens’ Derrick Henry (ninth). And his league-leading 5.7 yards per carry rank ahead of the Atlanta Falcons’ Bijan Robinson (second), the Buffalo Bills’ James Cook (third) and the Indianapolis Colts’ Jonathan Taylor (ninth).
“He’s just a special player,” center Aaron Brewer said, explaining that he has “the perfect build for a running back.” “Yeah, he’s a smaller dude, but bro is sturdy, and he’s fast as hell, too. He literally got everything you need. He got the speed, the agility, and he got the strength to play through tackles. It don’t matter who it is — d tackle, linebackers, safety — he’ll take a hit and still be balanced, sturdy and he’ll still get out of it.”
The biggest difference, according to coach Mike McDaniel, has been in his approach to the game.
“His confidence based on ownership of the small details which allows him to play that much faster,” McDaniel said. It also doesn’t hurt that, as Brewer alluded to, his “contact balance has improved.”
Added McDaniel: “His weight is still pretty much stayed. There’s confidence in there where he’s taking on defenders a little bit more, being able to shed them and I think it all plays together. You have a little more conviction and you make one or two defenders miss that you maybe wouldn’t have the game before, the season before and that builds confidence on top of itself.”
With Achane’s historic season now coming to a close, attention will soon pivot to his expiring contract. The three-year veteran is currently scheduled to make $1.4 million in base salary before playing time escalators kick-in as of this writing, according to Over the Cap. When asked if he plans to talk to the Dolphins about a contract extension, Achane’s response was short and sweet.
“Yes,” he said.
Realistically, Achane likely wants a contract somewhere in the neighborhood of Cook, who signed a five-year contract worth $51.6 million in August which guaranteed him roughly $30 million. The Dolphins could also opt to franchise tag Achane, which would cost roughly $14.1 million.
This story was originally published December 31, 2025 at 11:14 AM.
