The Miami Dolphins have done fantasy football managers a solid by ruling Raheem Mostert officially out for Thursday’s contest more than 24 hours in advance of their matchup against the Buffalo Bills.
With De’Von Achane now active but dealing with an ankle injury, should you consider starting Jeff Wilson Jr. or Jaylen Wright alongside Achane in Week 2?
Should You Start De’Von Achane, Jeff Wilson Jr., or Jaylen Wright This Week?
In the Pro Football Network Start/Sit Optimizer, PFN’s consensus rankings say that Achane is the player to start. His projected 13.4 points include a projection of 55 rushing yards, two receptions for 13 yards, and a score. That doesn’t seem like a big stat line, but it outperforms the consensus projection for Wilson (8.8 points) and Wright (0.0 points).
My ranking for the three Dolphins running backs aligns with the consensus, mainly because of Achane’s usage in the passing game and explosive playmaking.
Achane’s Fantasy Outlook This Week
The Dolphins putting up 400 yards in the 2024 season opener shouldn’t come as a huge surprise, considering just how explosive Miami’s offense can be with players like Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle on the boundary.
Yet, Achane finishing with fewer rushing yards than Wilson on five more attempts should be something worth considering when trying to project a Week 2 workload without Mostert in the lineup.
Miami Dolphins RB Rushing Stats From Week 1
- Jeff Wilson Jr.: five carries for 26 yards
- De’Von Achane: 10 carries for 24 yards and a TD
- Raheem Mostert: six carries for nine yards
Achane was exceptionally busy in the passing game, catching all seven of his targets for 76 — both were career-high marks for the second-year RB.
Additionally, Achane was the only Miami back to receive a red-zone carry in Week 1 — which is encouraging because he found pay dirt from the 1-yard line on his only rushing attempt near the end zone.
Even with Achane being limited all week, I’d still consider him a top-24 option this week, but his fourth-quarter usage in Week 1 and the fact that he was a game-time decision suggest he may not be fully healthy entering this contest. That adds a fair amount of risk toward deploying him in your lineup in Week 2.
Wilson’s Fantasy Outlook This Week
Speaking of fourth-quarter usage, Wilson saw all five of his carries in the final quarter of Week 1, which makes a bit more sense given the nature of both Achane and Mostert’s injuries sustained this past Sunday.
Some of Wilson’s efficiency signs were encouraging, as he was the only Dolphins running back to produce a rushing attempt of over 10 yards against Jacksonville.
Additionally, he was the only Miami back to gain positive yards on every single touch he received. Both Achane and Mostert were tackled for either zero or negative rushing yards on over 35% of their carries.
Wilson is the player I feel comfortable projecting a specific role this week from this Miami backfield, which gives him top-35 consideration at the RB position with Achane active against Buffalo.
Wright’s Fantasy Outlook This Week
Wright is undoubtedly an intriguing stash on your fantasy roster because of his explosive playmaking ability in this high-powered offense.
Just like Achane, Wright also has 4.3 speed but just happens to outweigh his backfield counterpart by over 20 pounds. Considering Achane missed six games his rookie year and is already dealing with an ankle injury in Week 2, it’s pretty reasonable to be concerned about his ability to stay healthy with an expanded role.
Wright has similar big-play juice to Achane, but he could be slightly better suited to a higher volume of work. This does give the dynamic rookie a path of having fantasy value down the road.
Even before Achane was officially active, I believed it was a bit too risky to start Wright this week, meaning I definitely don’t recommend him now.