{"id":858957,"date":"2026-04-07T13:17:16","date_gmt":"2026-04-07T13:17:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/858957\/"},"modified":"2026-04-07T13:17:16","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T13:17:16","slug":"miami-dolphins-roster-breakdown-running-back-depth-chart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/858957\/","title":{"rendered":"Miami Dolphins roster breakdown: Running back depth chart"},"content":{"rendered":"

New Miami Dolphins<\/a> general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan says he wants running back De\u2019Von Achane to be part of the long-term plan for the franchise.<\/p>\n

At the NFL annual meeting last week, with rumors swirling over Achane\u2019s trade availability after the Dolphins already dealt wide receiver Jaylen Waddle, Sullivan went the other way. He called it a \u201cpriority\u201d for the team to lock Achane into a contract extension<\/a> later this offseason.<\/p>\n

Miami\u2019s new duo of Sullivan and coach Jeff Hafley are steering clear of saying they\u2019re rebuilding the franchise, but Sullivan has referenced the need to get younger and cheaper.<\/p>\n

Through that roster transition, Sullivan clearly wants Achane to see the other side of it, when the Dolphins could be serious contenders again after stockpiling multiple draft classes and being aggressive in free agency once again after taking on a record $179 million in dead money in 2026.<\/p>\n

If Achane, who was brought in as a third-round pick in 2023, does stick around as the Dolphins\u2019 primary tailback, it begs the question: Who are the running backs Sullivan, Hafley and his offensive staff want to pair with him?<\/p>\n

After Achane, Miami, under previous GM Chris Grier, selected running backs in the mid-to-late rounds of the following two drafts: Jaylen Wright in the fourth round of 2024 and Ollie Gordon II in the sixth round last year.<\/p>\n

Could the Dolphins, behind new management, make it four running backs in four drafts, infusing some serious competition to be the No. 2 behind Achane?<\/p>\n

In his third NFL season, Achane earned his first Pro Bowl bid. His 1,350 rushing yards marked the third-most by a Dolphin, behind Ricky Williams\u2019 back-to-back 2002 and 2003 campaigns. Achane\u2019s 1,838 total yards from scrimmage rank No. 2 among running backs in franchise history, topped only by the 2,216 from Williams in 2002.<\/p>\n

The home run threat and versatility the speedy Achane presents \u2014 with 145 receptions for 1,080 yards and 10 receiving touchdowns over the past two seasons \u2014 make him a coveted piece any offense could use.<\/p>\n

At 5 foot 9, 191 pounds, his 586 touches over the past two seasons do spark the question of how long the smaller-bodied Achane can last taking on such a heavy workload.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why it\u2019s important for the Dolphins to establish at least one, maybe multiple, other reliable options out of the backfield, preferably who can handle short-yardage runs and find space between the tackles.<\/p>\n

Between Wright and Gordon last season, Gordon, the hot new name as a rookie, was the darling out of training camp following a strong preseason. But Wright had better numbers when it was all said and done. They both got 70 carries on the year, and Wright rushed for a 4.1 average compared to 2.8 for Gordon. Granted, many of Gordon\u2019s chances were from in close in short-yardage situations. A big chunk of Wright\u2019s 288 rushing yards last season came in a 107-yard performance against the New York Jets when Achane went out in the first half.<\/p>\n

Wright measures in at 5 foot 10, 208 pounds, and Gordon is 6 foot 2, 225 pounds.<\/p>\n

The Dolphins also have former Michigan running back Donovan Edwards on the roster vying for a role next season.<\/p>\n

After releasing fullback Alec Ingold, a staple of former coach Mike McDaniel\u2019s offense, Miami is without a traditional fullback on its current roster.<\/p>\n

Dolphins Deep Dive: Feeling confident in Sullivan and Hafley? | VIDEO<\/a><\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"New Miami Dolphins general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan says he wants running back De\u2019Von Achane to be part of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":858958,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2049],"tags":[217,7,216,251,2087,6,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-858957","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-miami-dolphins","8":"tag-dolphins","9":"tag-football","10":"tag-miami","11":"tag-miami-dolphins","12":"tag-miamidolphins","13":"tag-nfl","14":"tag-nfl-draft"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116363621107028269","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/858957","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=858957"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/858957\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/858958"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=858957"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=858957"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=858957"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}