Miami Dolphins RB Jaylen Wright fits the mold of what this offense wants – speed with a side of speed. The rookie has plenty of explosiveness in his profile, and backfield versatility was a strength of this team a season ago.
Fantasy football managers often focus on raw upside in the later stages of the draft, which explains Wright’s optimism despite not having a clear role entering the season. Is that a wise way to build out your bench?
Should You Select Jaylen Wright at His Current ADP?
ADP:Â 165th Overall (RB50)
Wright is on our radar because he fits the Miami “type” and because he piled up 1,154 yards at Tennessee last season. He’s currently being drafted well outside of the first 10 rounds, a range that allows you to throw darts without much in the way of expectations. Players picked in this range are largely disposable, and that drives my belief that there is no such thing as a wasted pick at this point.
That said, Green Bay Packers RB MarShawn Lloyd is being selected in the same neighborhood, and I like his path to meaningful work much better. He sits behind Josh Jacobs on the depth chart, a back that has missed multiple games in two of three seasons and has only had one noteworthy fantasy season over the past four.
I believe there’s a world in which Lloyd can return standalone value without a Jacobs injury, and his upside is greater than that of Wright should both of them see an injury to the Day 1 starter.
There’s nothing wrong with drafting Wright at his price – just make sure that you do so with reasonable expectations and patience.
Wright’s Fantasy Profile for the 2024 NFL Season
As fantasy managers, we want to be at the crossroads of where talent meets opportunity. Wright having the former seems like a given based on what Pro Football Network Draft Analyst Ian Cummings penned in the pre-draft process as his notable strengths:
Jaylen Wright had 9 carries for 90 yards and a touchdown against Georgia. pic.twitter.com/ufezKgjml3
— Nick Penticoff (@NickPenticoff)
- Quantifiably elite speed and explosiveness threat with home-run ability in open space
- Long-striding, low-to-the-ground boundary bandit who reliably trails wide zone runs
- Able to use abrupt angle spasms while keeping stride to induce hesitation in defenders
- Can use his hyperactive, short-area jitter to correct his attack angles ahead of gaps
- Has the hip flexibility to weave his way upfield past lunging defenders and stay clean
- Possesses a good mix of patience and decisiveness and can instinctively flow to space
- Speed and instincts allow him to consistently carve out small gains with congested looks
- Has the vision to quickly identify and utilize A-gap openings with his speed
It’s the latter that concerns me. Raheem Mostert and De’Von Achane, elite home run hitters in their own rights, accounted for 78.8% of Miami’s running back carries a season ago. That number alone leaves little room for a third option and that window shuts even further when you recall that the Dolphins duo combined to miss eight games.
That said, Wright’s situation does check some critical boxes. He’s part of an offense that projects as a top-10 unit and one that won’t see its passer do damage on the ground. Tua Tagovailoa had more completions last season than he has rushing yards during his four years in the NFL.
He may be third on the depth chart, but the two RBs ahead of him aren’t exactly bulletproof. Mostert turned 32 in April and the team wasn’t willing to extend Achane in too significant of a role (just two games with 15+ carries last season).
Is the juice worth the squeeze in the late rounds, understanding that he is very unlikely to hold standalone value sans an injury ahead of him?
