Miami Dolphins running back De’Von Achane has not practiced since hurting his shoulder in the team’s second preseason game. Will he play in the team’s season opener against the Los Angeles Chargers? Here’s the latest injury update on Achane.
What Happened to De’Von Achane?
Achane got hurt in the third quarter of the Dolphins’ preseason win over the Houston Texans.
He ran up the middle and into a wall of Texans defenders, gaining six yards before getting slung backward by defensive tackle Khalil Davis.
This was the run where De’Von Achane unfortunately got hurt, but it was impressive. He’s not know to be a powerful runner but the added size he put on looks like it’s helped. Here he is head on with a LB who’s a lot bigger than him, but he keeps the legs churning for more yards. pic.twitter.com/ps0p3UZijv
— Finscentral (@finscentral) August 23, 2023
Achane landed on his left side, and as he came off the field, he was in obvious discomfort, flexing his left hand.
On if he expects Achane back for Week 1, head coach Mike McDaniel replied:
“I think that far out, I’m not really worried about it being an issue. I’m more worried about how he’s going to look at the end of this week and the beginning of next. That’s kind of the timeline for him.”
Some injury experts on Twitter have speculated that Achane suffered a relatively mild AC joint sprain and believed there was a legitimate chance he returned for the opener.
What Are Miami’s Options if Achane Misses Time?
But even if that timeline is a bit ambitious, the Dolphins should have plenty of firepower at the running back position — even if they don’t trade for Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor, which is being considered.
At best, Achane — the third-round pick out of Texas A&M who has game-changing speed — was the team’s No. 3 option behind Raheem Mostert and Jeff Wilson Jr. It’s not even a sure bet he was going to out-snap Salvon Ahmed early on.
The Dolphins also have Myles Gaskin on the roster ahead of Tuesday’s roster cutdown deadline. Dolphins offensive coordinator Frank Smith agreed with the premise that Miami has enough firepower at that position.
“We’ve had some good outings and some plays that obviously we can improve our execution,” Smith said.
“Just overall, they’ve done a very good job. Overall, we’re starting to really understand conceptually what we’re trying to do in the running game and the connection between the runner’s intent, the line’s blocking, perimeter’s blocking, how it all fits. I think, just in general, you can’t put your finger on one thing.
“The backs have done a good job, but just overall, the connection from everyone and then the level of the sense of urgency to get it done I think has improved, and that’s an area that we want to continue upon, not just say, ‘hey, this has been good.’ We want to keep pushing the bar on our execution in all phases.”
What Does This Mean for Achane’s Fantasy Ranking?
– Analysis by PFN Fantasy Director Kyle Yates
Achane has explosive playmaking ability, and he’s someone that fantasy managers are holding out hope for going into the 2023 NFL season.
However, it’s important to remember that he is still a rookie RB who will have to prove he’s worthy of playing time over other veterans who have been in McDaniel’s system much longer. While Mostert and Wilson have durability concerns, Achane was never going to be given the workhorse role right out of the gate.
Especially given his size, Achane was going to be used primarily as a change-of-pace option that will have to be wildly efficient in order to crack the top 24 RB rankings any given week. If he proves that he can withstand an increased workload, though, there’s the possibility that he could become a weekly contributor for fantasy lineups.
His time away from the team rehabbing this injury certainly will not help his case to be given a major opportunity right away. As the team prepares for their Week 1 matchup against the Chargers, Miami’s coaching staff will lean on their veteran RBs as a key facet of the game plan.
This means that Achane is unlikely to be given enough work to end up in starting lineups for fantasy to begin the season, which means that fantasy managers need to be cautious with drafting the rookie RB. If he’s still available for you in one of the final rounds of your draft, he’s worth adding for the potential payoff down the line.
However, if you’re drafting him and expecting that he’ll immediately contribute at a high level in Week 1, you might need to be a bit more measured with your expectations.