Who Will Follow a 2025 Pro Bowler in the Dolphins 2026 RB Room?
Unlike the quarterback room or most of the 2026 Miami Dolphins roster, the Dolphins' projected running back room is one of the few bright spots for new head coach Jeff Hafley this upcoming season. 2023 third-round pick Devon Achane showed why he was one of the best running backs in the NFL in 2025 after rushing for 1350 yards, receiving for 488 yards, and recording 12 touchdowns. The one-time Pro-Bowler has certainly cemented himself as the Dolphins' bona fide starter, especially after signing a four-year, 68 million deal this offseason. So, what will this mean for the rest of the running back room in South Beach this year?
Who Will Take Over the Backup Running Back Spot?
As of right now, the race for RB2 is clearly between Ollie Gordon II and Jaylen Wright. Both running backs had plenty of runs throughout the season, both tallying 70 carries in 2025. The big differences between the two came later in the season, with second-year running back Wright getting 23 more carries from their Week Seven loss to Cleveland until the end of the season, while also running for more yards and yards per carry. On the flip side of that, the previous Dolphins’ regime didn’t use the former Volunteer for most of the early season, opting for the 2025 seventh-round pick Gordon to take some of the load off of Achane.
The Verdict: All Aboard the Jay-Train in 2026
It’s a really hard decision to make for this new coaching staff on who should take over the backup spot, which, in theory, should be a good thing for Hafley and his staff. That being said, you can’t look past what Wright was able to do in the latter half of the season and not see him as RB2 for the Dolphins in 2026. He had the same number of carries for more yards and a better yards-per-carry compared to Gordon. Alongside that, the former fourth-round pick became the featured back in the second half against the New York Jets in Miami’s 34-10 win, rushing for 107 yards on 24 carries and a touchdown. Just because I believe Wright should be following Achane this upcoming season doesn’t mean the former Oklahoma State Cowboy won’t get any run. Gordon has a very different running style from either Achane or Wright. The six-foot-two, 225-pound runner runs like a true old-school powerback, which is just something that isn’t provided by any other back in the 2026 Dolphins’ running back room.
