Not easily! We are, after all, talking about one of the league’s most explosive, game-breaking offensive skill weapons in De’Von Achane. He left the Dolphins’ Week 5 contest against the Patriots after being evaluated for a concussion. He took a sideline hit that knocked him out of the game.
The Dolphins offense hasn’t been as prolific nor as explosive since Tua Tagovailoa hit Injured Reserve with a head injury. Still, the Mike McDaniel’s commitment to running the ball has generated some fantasy-relevant performances from Raheem Mostert, Jaylen Wright, and the like.
Let’s go through a few approaches to replace De’Von Achane on waivers, or at least protect yourself if he misses time.
The Wait-and-See Approach
We all know the Dolphins have a zillion running backs. Apparently, it’s necessary, because Achane—at this point, what one might consider the Dolphins’ premier offensive threat behind Tyreek Hill—tends to miss time. He missed six weeks in his electric rookie season, and might miss some now during the 2024 campaign.
In some ways, this is a massive blow to fantasy managers. In others, it might be a bit of a relief. The Dolphins offense is atrocious right now, and their offensive line is playing well below-league average when it comes to run-blocking. Defenses are crowding the box and daring Skylar Thompson, Snoop Huntley, and whatever other replacement QB the Fins run out there.
By all accounts, Raheem Mostert is fully healthy. I doubt he would have carried the ball 19 times in his return (80 yards) if he was whatsoever on a snap count. Mostert also caught two passes for 18 yards.
Going forward, this might clear things up for Achane in the backfield. It’s been a rough go since Tua hit IR, and Achane could use someone else besides Jaylen Wright to take some of the lower-value carries.
Concussion recovery is nonlinear; we know this. It’s just as likely we’ll find out, as soon as Wednesday’s practice report rolls in, that Achane is trending toward playing. Equally as likely he might not. There’s a legitimate school of thought that might consider it spendthrift to dump your FAAB on another Dolphins running back.
Waiting and seeing, here, looks a lot more like unsettled impatience (and maybe a trade?) and practicing restraint. But, remember, this shouldn’t be an injury that causes Achane to miss a heck of a lot of time. Regardless, you still might want to explore other options, like —
The Jaylen Wright Approach
If you own Achane, it might be wise to just go out and get Jaylen Wright, no matter your starting lineup intentions for Week 6. It’s likely Wright is unowned; he’s only rostered in 8.0% of fantasy leagues.
Sunday afternoon, Wright carried the ball 13 times for 86 yards. He hadn’t yet toted more than ten carries in a game, and the man did the most with what he got yesterday. He had three carries of over ten yards (12, 16, and 17 yards, respectively) and also had an impressive 33-yard run negated by an offensive penalty.
Jeff Wilson Jr. shouldn’t compete with Wright for carries when Wilson eventually gets healthy. At this point, Wilson is aging, and he’s more-or-less an emergency option. Given his injury history, he doesn’t seem like a stable one at that.
The only running back with fantasy relevance on the Dolphins roster behind Achane is Jaylen Wright. If you project the Dolphins offense to correct itself in about a month’s time (I sure do), you may want to just blow 40% of your FAAB on Wright and wait this thing out.
The Greener Pastures Approach
Right. This would be the approach for fantasy managers already so fed up with the Dolphins offense (I’d encourage you to not punt on them for the entire season, but I get it) that they don’t even want to bother with running Achane out in Week 6, healthy or not.
Check out my colleague Zach Thompson‘s Week 6 Waiver Wire column here on DKN, which features names, analysis, and a world full of hope for weary Dolphins fantasy managers.
My favorites, of course, are Tank Bigsby and Tyrone Tracy Jr.
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