Who can help carry the load for the Miami Dolphins behind Achane?
He may not have shown it, but the mileage kept piling up on De’Von Achane as the Miami Dolphins struggled last season.
Whether on carries, designed targets or checkdowns, the 5-foot-9, 190-pound speedster rarely came out of the equation, ranking among the league’s top 10 with 306 combined carries and receptions while leading the NFL with 5.7 yards per carry.
But after signing him to a four-year, $64 million extension this offseason, a deal that made the 24-year-old the league’s third-highest-paid running back, the concern of how much help Miami has behind him looms larger than ever.
With the room behind Achane still unsettled, Miami enters camp looking for someone to make a jump.
That could mean offseason growth from Jaylen Wright, a more versatile role for Ollie Gordon II or one of the Dolphins’ other backs finding a better fit in offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik’s system.
Little margin for error behind Achane
For a running back room that was already top-heavy last year, Miami entered training camp in 2025 with more proven depth than it has now.
Veteran Alexander Mattison drew attention in camp as a complementary option behind Achane before he sustained a season-ending neck injury in Miami’s preseason opener against the Chicago Bears.
Later in the preseason, Wright underwent a leg procedure that sidelined him for multiple weeks, while Achane also dealt with a calf injury before the start of the regular season.
Miami still has Wright and Gordon II behind Achane, but the group gets thin quickly after that.
If two of the Dolphins’ top three backs go down again, the team could be left leaning on a backfield with only one player who has recorded an NFL carry.
Most likely to step up
During his rookie campaign, Gordon was used mostly in short-yardage situations, which made his role easier to predict. Paired with his naturally high pad level, that contributed to him having the NFL’s highest tackled-for-loss rate (22.86%) among running backs with at least 25 carries.
Don’t expect the 6-foot-2, 225-pound back to rival Achane’s workload, but the former Doak Walker Award winner has already shown he is capable of being more than a battering ram. In 2023, he led the NCAA with 1,732 rushing yards while running for 21 touchdowns and catching 39 passes.
While Wright’s more compact frame and impressive straight-line speed might suggest he’s the better receiving threat, Gordon II is the more natural pass catcher and has showcased better vision.
Instead of being limited to short relief carries between the tackles, the Oklahoma State product could give Miami an option it can trust in space on flat routes, swing passes and other designed touches. He also appears to be the team’s top pass-protecting running back, giving him another path to earning snaps.
“Not only is he big, he runs big. It’s going to sound like trash cans are banging back there. That’s one thing that he’s always had that we will always embrace,” Dolphins offensive coordinator Slowik said during OTA’s. “He’s trying not to just be a run-only back, and he’s getting better at that every day. Now, we can use him in a lot of different ways.”
In Wright’s case, his 4.1 yards per carry last season was respectable, but if Miami viewed it as fully sustainable, he likely would have been given a larger workload.
Wright arrived in Miami fresh off an All-SEC season and a standout Combine performance, where he ran a 4.38-second 40-yard dash and posted a 38-inch vertical.
“My man has some speed. He’s got juice. I think everybody can see it when he opens up, and it shows up more and more, the more confident he is in what exactly is going on around him,” Slowik said. "The run game is the run game, always going to emphasize that for the backs. Can we grow in protection? Can we grow in the pass game? Can we shore up things like that?”
The Tennessee product has the athleticism to be an explosive change-of-pace option, but he hasn’t consistently paired that with the patience and vision Miami needs between the tackles behind Achane. At times, Wright can be too fast into the hole, reaching the line before blocks are fully secured and forcing himself to hit the brakes and make late adjustments.
Back-end depth
Outside of Achane, Wright and Gordon II, Miami’s remaining running backs are Carlos Washington Jr., Anthony Hankerson and Donovan Edwards.
Edwards spent time on the Dolphins’ active roster late last season after being signed off Washington’s practice squad, but still has not recorded an NFL carry.
Hankerson is an undrafted rookie coming off back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons at Oregon State, while Washington Jr., a Southeastern Louisiana product, has appeared in two NFL games, both with Atlanta, without taking an offensive snap.