Pro Football Focus makes suggestion that would result in former Tennessee Vols standout becoming a star player in the NFL in 2025
Pro Football Focus made a suggestion this week for the 2025 NFL season that would result in a former Tennessee Vols standout (possibly) becoming a star player in the NFL. PFF's Ryan Smith suggested that the Miami Dolphins move running back De'Von Achane to wide receiver, citing the fact that he ran more routes in […]
Pro Football Focus made a suggestion this week for the 2025 NFL season that would result in a former Tennessee Vols standout (possibly) becoming a star player in the NFL.
PFF's Ryan Smith suggested that the Miami Dolphins move running back De'Von Achane to wide receiver, citing the fact that he ran more routes in 2024 than any other running back in the NFL.
Smith also noted that Achane struggles in pass protection.
Moving Achane to wide receiver would open the door for former Tennessee running back Jaylen Wright to take over the RB1 role for the Dolphins.
Wright, a fourth round selection by Miami in the 2024 NFL Draft, rushed for 249 yards as a rookie last season while playing behind Achane and Raheem Mostert (Mostert was released earlier this offseason).
Smith pointed out that Wright ranked among the top 20 in yards after contact per attempt and missed tackles forced per attempt as a rookie season, which shows that the former Vol has some RB1 attributes.
From PFF: The Dolphins traded a 2025 third-round pick to move up and select Tennessee running back Jaylen Wright at 120th overall in the 2024 NFL Draft. The move made sense: Raheem Mostert was coming off a career year but was on the wrong side of 30, and Achane was not viewed as a workhorse type of player in the backfield.
At the time, the move looked like it would pay immediate dividends, but for one reason or another, Wright played 171 snaps all season, including just 29 over the final six games. He did have his bright spots early in the year, particularly in Week 5 at New England.
Wright stepped in for an injured Achane and turned 13 carries into 86 yards, 60 of which came after contact. He forced four missed tackles and accounted for four explosive runs (10-plus yards) on the ground. His 87.9 PFF overall grade in the game trailed only Terron Armstead (88.2) for the team lead.
Wright, who turns 22 in early April, never really got a chance to shine for the Dolphins last season while playing in a backup role. Moving Achane to more of a wide receiver role would allow the Dolphins to maximize Wright's elite skills out of the backfield.
Even if the Dolphins don't officially move Achane to wide receiver, Wright should still see significantly more carries in 2025 with Mostert no longer in Miami.
