When you think about NFL football, you think about the flashing lights illuminating a quarterbacks perfect pass, an edge rusher flying around the corner and forcing a big fumble, a six-foot-five tackle holding up his jersey next to Roger Goodell on draft night. The days of a bell cow running back have come and gone.
There aren’t many teams in the league who’s most notable player is a running back. In fact, of the 32 teams analyzed in Bleacher Reports search to find each team’s most promising building block, only three of them turned up a running back. One of the three is Miami Dolphins’ De’Von Achane.
“Jaylen Wright could see an expanded role following Raheem Mostert’s departure in free agency. Seventh-year veteran Alexander Mattison and rookie sixth-rounder Ollie Gordon II could contribute to the rotation, but Achane will be the most explosive player in the Dolphins backfield,” Moe Moton wrote.
Achane registered 1,499 scrimmage yards last season and punched the ball in the end zone 12 total times. He averaged 7.8 yards per carry his rookie season, and 7.6 yards per reception last year.
“Now due for a more significant workload, Achane is a strong candidate to be one of the league leaders in scrimmage yards and touchdowns,” Moton concludes.
Coach Says De’Von Achane Expecting Bigger Work Load
Achane had a team high 281 touches in 2024. Although he was head and shoulders above the next Dolphin, this total didn’t even crack the NFL’s top-15. Players like Saquon Barkley, Kyren Williams, and Bijan Robinson had nearly 100 more than he did.
It is for that reason that running back’s coach Eric Studesville says the young back is due for an increased work load in the coming season.
NFL Networks Cameron Wolfe says that he had a chance to talk to coach Studesville. Upon questions on whether the running back’s five-foot-nine 180-pound body can sustain more carries, coach said he’s “never viewed Achane as a small back” and that “he (Achane) says he wants more, and we are preparing to give him more.”
Pro Football Focus analyzed Achane’s offensive use in May.
“Achane remained a backup to begin 2024 but started from Week 2 until the end of the season,” PFF writes. “He averaged 62% of Miami’s offensive snaps over the rest of the season. This only led to a slight uptick in rushing attempts, where he received 10-12 attempts most weeks, finishing with four games of 15 or more carries and two games with single-digit carries.”
PFF Predicts Third Down Usage Might Decline
Pro Football Focus uses advanced analytics to create player projections. In doing so, they looked at Achane’s third down usage last season and found that, although he is one of the best receiving backs in the league, his third down rate was not as high as one would assume.
This leads the website to predict that in 2025 the trend may continue. Saying that the addition of Alexander Mattison and Ollie Gordon may hint at the team prioritizing a bruiser in these scenarios.
“Gordon is in the 88th percentile or higher for height, weight, arm length and hand size. Mattison is also on the larger side for a running back,” PFF wrote. “It would be understandable if the Dolphins switch to a bigger back in these situations, although it could be detrimental to Achane’s fantasy ceiling.”
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