ESPN makes a surprising selection for the Miami Dolphins’ ‘worst’ move of the 2026 offseason
The “worst” move of the Miami Dolphins’ offseason, per ESPN, says a lot about the past few months in South Florida.
The Miami Dolphins‘ offseason has no shortage of moves for constructive criticism. After all, the Dolphins have turned over a ton of their roster. The reality of good (and bad) moves won’t be known until Miami starts playing games for keeps.
That doesn’t mean you can’t project. Those projections have generally started, and they’re especially relevant for the Miami Dolphins. Miami’s remaining budget is going to be tight for new free agent additions — and as such the group they currently have is likely going to be the vast majority of their roster for 2026. ESPN recently weighed in on every AFC team’s offseason moves. And their constructive criticism for Miami says a lot about the offseason that’s been had in South Florida.
ESPN tabs not trading RB De’Von Achane as their worst move
“Achane is coming off a career year in which he averaged 5.7 yards per carry and sat out only the final game of the season. His slight build is always going to raise questions about durability. Achane also thrived under Mike McDaniel, who might be the best run-game designer in the league…He’s a very good running back, and it’s reasonable for Sullivan to see Achane as a core component for the Dolphins moving forward, but I don’t know if these Dolphins will be able to get the most out of him. Achane could have thrived elsewhere. If the Dolphins could have landed a second-round pick for him, I would have preferred to see them move on and try to land the next Achane in the middle rounds of the draft over the years to come.”
BIll Barnwell
On the Miami Dolphins' decision not to move De'Von Achane
Let’s start here, first and foremost. If the worst move your team has made in an offseason is keeping one of your best players, it would seem that the overall direction of the build is off to a nice start. Yes, the Miami Dolphins probably could have traded Achane this offseason — but it’s impossible to know what kind of offers the team fielded. Barnwell opines that a second-round pick would have been a preferable asset to move forward with.
Did the Dolphins even get offered a second-round draft pick in any of the calls that they received? Who knows?!
Barnwell offered some interesting commentary on Achane’s effectiveness with and without Tua Tagovailoa on the field. It was meant to highlight some potential risk with the extension. But the effectiveness splits of the entire offense reflected that same dynamic under Mike McDaniel, too.
The entire offense was tailored to Tagovailoa’s strengths. As such, it had become fundamentally limited (and broken) as a whole. So when someone else tried to wear the offense fit for Tua, the whole thing didn’t really work. We’ve seen that enough over the past several years.
And so this offseason will be looked back on as a meat and potatoes effort. The Dolphins got back to basics, coveted young players, didn’t compromise their long-term financial flexibility, and secured one star player on a team-friendly long-term deal. If that last bit is the biggest critique of the bunch, things went pretty well to date.
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