2026 could be brewing up as De'Von Achane's best shot at joining one of the NFL's most exclusive clubs as the Miami Dolphins' offensive centerpiece
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2026 could be brewing up as De'Von Achane's best shot at joining one of the NFL's most exclusive clubs as the Miami Dolphins' offensive centerpiece
Sep 8, 2024; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Miami Dolphins running back De'Von Achane (28) runs with the football against the Jacksonville Jaguars during the fourth quarter at Hard Rock Stadium. Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
Kyle Crabbs·AtoZ Sports
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4 min read
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The Miami Dolphins have plenty of questions about their perimeter skill players. Is it enough to put De'Von Achane into the rarest of company?
The prior quarterback is gone. The top two receivers are also gone. The replacements have plenty of physical ability. But they don't have a lot in the way of a proven resume. Meanwhile, in the backfield, Achane has the resume. And he also has a brand-new contract, which will pay him up to $68 million in compensation between now at 203o. It's a great deal. But it also aligns Achane to be the centerpiece of this offense. Are the conditions ripe for Miami's young running back to join one of the rarest clubs in football in 2026?
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What needs to happen for the Miami Dolphins to see De'Von Achane join the 1,000/1,000 club?
Sep 8, 2024; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Miami Dolphins running back De'Von Achane (28). Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
The 1,000/1,000 club. It's only happened a handful of times in the history of the league, where a single player has logged 1,000 rushing yards and 1,000 receiving yards in the same season. To date, just three players have been able to roll up that kind of production in a single season:
San Francisco 49ers' Roger Craig (1985): 1,050 rushing/1,016 receiving
St. Louis Rams' Marshall Faulk (1999): 1,381 rushing/1,048 receiving
Carolina Panthers' Christian McCaffrey (2019): 1,387 rushing/1,005 receiving
It's a sensational amount of production - levels of which we (obviously) rarely see. But De'Von Achane could have the stars aligning to make a run at it. Because let's remember, the Dolphins' perimeter play is full of young, unproven players and career role players thus far. Tight end has a receiving weapon in Greg Dulcich, but the rest of the room does not carry receiving profiles.
Achane is a productive pass catcher, although his career to date has been bogged down by perimeter screens that don't necessarily encourage a high-yield per target. Over 10% of Achane's career routes run through three seasons have been wide receiver screens. The good news for Achane's production profile is that the quarterback and offensive line have been altered. And the play caller is now Bobby Slowik, not Mike McDaniel. McDaniel, of course, had the play sheet for those three seasons of high screen usage.
If Achane were to see the needed receiving bump necessary to get to 1,000 yards in a single season (that isthequestion here after Achane posted north of 1,300 rushing yards last season), the historical numbers for the three members of the 1,000/1,000 club are informative.
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Receiving thresholds are key
McCaffrey's season in 2019 required 142 targets and he averaged 8.7 yards per reception. Faulk's year in 1999 needed just 104 targets. He averaged a whopping 12.0 yards per catch. And in 1985, Craig needed 117 targets while averaging 11.0 yards per catch. All three caught between 78-83% of their targets in their respective seasons.
Achane's career to date averages on the north end of the catch percentage. He's caught 82.8% of his career targets. But volume and yards per catch both need a big jump this season. Achane has had 87 and 85 targets in each of the last two seasons while averaging approximately 7.5 yards per catch.
The math ain't going to math here. De'Von Achane would not only need to see around a 50% increase in passing game targets, he'd also need to post at least a yard, if not a yard and a half, more per catch. If you're wanting to see it happen, the only good news I have for you is this: the 2026 Miami Dolphins' circumstances are perfectly aligned to feed him significantly more targets. And with a new play-caller in place, the opportunity for more receptions that happen at or beyond the line of scrimmage could give the per-catch boost he needs, too.
