National outlet sees regression for Miami Dolphins star who had a career year in 2023
It's going to be very tough for Miami Dolphins RB Raheem Mostert to repeat the career year that he had in 2023 this fall. The veteran running back had a breakout season in 2023, tying Christian McCaffrey for most rushing touchdowns (18) while also cracking the 1000-yard rushing mark (1008) for the first time in […]
It's going to be very tough for Miami Dolphins RB Raheem Mostert to repeat the career year that he had in 2023 this fall.
The veteran running back had a breakout season in 2023, tying Christian McCaffrey for most rushing touchdowns (18) while also cracking the 1000-yard rushing mark (1008) for the first time in his career. He also managed to log 15 starts, another first-time feat for him.
However, things won't be nearly as easy in 2024, and that's largely due to opportunity alone. Rookie De'Von Achane, who looked absolutely unstoppable at times during his rookie season, should be set to handle an increased workload. Oh, and the Dolphins also drafted Tennessee standout RB Jaylen Wright in the fourth round of the draft. Wright's explosiveness, advanced pass blocking skills (for a rookie), and outstanding receiving skills should help him see the field on any given down.
As such, it was certainly easy for Pro Football Network – who identified a player to regress for all 32 teams – to identify him as the player for the Dolphins most likely to take a step back in 2024.
Prior to last season, Miami Dolphins running back Raheem Mostert had 14 rushing touchdowns total in his NFL career. Yet, in 2023, he somehow totaled 18 rushing touchdowns for Miami while also eclipsing the 1,000-yard rushing mark for the first time.
Given the emergence of a hopefully healthy De’Von Achane, it’s easy to assume that Mostert will come back down to earth in 2024. Despite his epic performance last season, the sudden emergency of a 31-year-old RB likely isn’t sustainable.
It's hard to blame them for tabbing Mostert here. 18 touchdowns is such an incredible outlier to what he's done, and those scores will almost certainly be vultured by Wright or Achane, provided all stay healthy.
However, what's working in Mostert's favor is that he didn't appear to lose a step last season. He ran hard through all 17 games and didn't show any sign of being a player on the decline in his early 30s. If he can continue to take advantage of his opportunities, perhaps he can still produce at the same rate that he did in 2023.
However, it's still a numbers game in the Dolphins' backfield, and the pie is now going to get sliced three ways. And with the playmaking ability of both Achane and Wright, it's hard to see them not getting ample opportunities this season.
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