De’Von Achane, who turns 25 in October, is coming off a campaign where he finally cleared 1,000 rushing yards while also securing his second straight season with north of 65 receptions. He’s one of the more talented RBs in the league, but talent alone isn’t enough for fantasy football managers, and there are supporting questions aplenty in Miami.
Should You Draft De’Von Achane in Fantasy Football?
Achane is one of the most dynamic runners in the league, but there’s also some uncertainty facing him this coming year.
Achane has an ADP of 11.4. His PFN rank is a little bit lower at 17th overall. His projected points per game this coming year is 16.14, and he ranks as the RB8 on the preliminary board for PFN entering the year. This is coming off two straight RB5 finishes, so these numbers seem a little bit deflated in relation to that.
He was sixth in total yards from scrimmage in 2025. He was also second in 20-plus-yard runs with 13. He averaged 2.7 rushing yards before contact and 3.0 rushing yards after contact. Not only did he have the league lead in rushing yards after contact, but he was just one of 10 RBs to average more rushing yardage after contact than before. For a guy who’s around 5-foot-9, 195 pounds, that doesn’t compute, but it makes it all the more inspiring that we can agree Achane has played up beyond that frame better than most expected when he entered the league as a prospect. His blazing 4.32 speed, instant explosion, and angle-warping short-area twitch make him an incredibly potent space creator as well as a contact eluder. Once he’s in space, he’s nearly impossible to catch.
Miami on the offensive front returns four of five starters from 2025. They added Kadyn Proctor in round 1 of the NFL Draft as a desperately needed interior blocker. Yes, Jonah Savaiinaea desperately needs improvement. Austin Jackson’s availability is definitely a concern. But Aaron Brewer is also a superlative player at the center position, particularly in the run-blocking game, where he can get in space and pile-drive defenders into submission at the second level. That’s where Achane loves to thrive.
Losing Mike McDaniel is also a frightening reality looming over the Miami rushing attack. Bobby Slowik’s Texans ranked 27th in rushing efficiency both seasons he was there. But at the same time, the Shanahan backgrounds are similar, and Slowik should keep many of the principles that made Achane so productive the same: resetting the contact point and getting out in space on zone blocks. I don’t think he’s the mad genius that McDaniel is. I don’t think we’ll see as much motion or variability. But I do think we’ll still see the rushing attack stay composed and intact enough for Achane to keep thriving.
With so few receiving options on the roster, Achane may be relied upon even more as a short-game receiving target for first-year starter Malik Willis, and as a TD producer in negative game scripts. There’s room for a positive TD regression with just a 4% career rushing TD rate to this point. I think with Malik Willis alongside him as a dynamic rushing threat, those two can feed off each other and create space.
Achane has proven he can stay available as one of the only constants of the Miami offense, and he figures to be a featured two-phase weapon once again. In fact, in my opinion, he may see career-best volume, and as such is easily worth a late first-round pick as a verifiable RB1 candidate with an excess of touches coming his way and a big-play generation gene.
FANTASY RANKINGS: PFN’s FREE Fantasy PPR, Half-PPR, and Non-PPR Rankings
De’Von Achane’s Week 1 Fantasy Outlook
Analysis provided by PFN Analyst Kyle Soppe.
I don’t think we are going to have to wait long to see what Malik Willis’ impact on the offensive environment in Miami is.
He’ll grow as a thrower, and we know that’s going to take some time. For the purposes of Achane, I’m curious as to how his dynamic rushing ability is treated by defenses out of the gates.
Will they respect the run and loosen some of the pressure looks to make sure they have the perimeter covered? Or will they bring pressure from all angles and force him to make quick decisions?
Hard to say. What I do know is that only three defenses last season allowed fewer yards per carry before contact to running backs than the Raiders. They can shut down those interior runs with the best of them, but if their attention is divided due to a mobile QB, the math stands to change (Jaxson Dart had their attention in Week 17 last season, and it allowed the Tyrone Tracy/Devin Singletary tandem to average 4.9 yards per carry).
This game should stay close, and that means a commitment to the run that I’m not sure we will see from the ’Fins more than a handful of times this season. Will those carries be efficient?
Achane has scored 10+ PPR points as a pass catcher in consecutive season openers, and his involvement in that regard will be worth watching, obviously, but if he can maintain his impressive YPC numbers, this offense might not be as ineffective as we assume.
Jahmyr Gibbs and Bijan Robinson went 1-2 or 2-1 in most drafts this summer, and those are the only two RBs I have ranked ahead of Achane for Week 1.
START PREPARING: PFN’s FREE Fantasy Draft Simulator
Where Achane Ranks Among 2026 Running Backs
- James Cook III | BUF
- Christian McCaffrey | SF
- Saquon Barkley | PHI
- Chase Brown | CIN
- Derrick Henry | BAL
- De'Von Achane | MIA
- Kenneth Walker III | KC
- Omarion Hampton | LAC
- Jeremiyah Love | ARI
- Ashton Jeanty | LV
- Javonte Williams | DAL
Compare him against the rest of the board in PFN's Full PPR Running Back Rankings.
