The Miami Dolphins emerged victorious from their Week 5 matchup against the New York Giants, but did not make it out of the game unscathed. Rookie running back De'Von Achane will be placed on injured reserve due to a knee injury he suffered in Sunday's victory, per ESPN.
The injury is not expected to be season ending, but Achane will now be out until at least Week 11, as Miami has its bye in Week 10.
Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel told reporters on Monday Achane was being evaluated for a knee injury, and that his status for this week's game against the Carolina Panthers was "to be determined." He noted that it was "trivial" to forecast any timeline for Achane's return because the team was still gathering information about the injury.
Achane sat out the Dolphins' Week 1 game after suffering a training camp injury and played only sparingly in Week 2, but over the past three weeks has absolutely exploded onto the scene.
Despite having only 38 rushing attempts, Achane is second in the league in rushing yards (460) behind only Christian McCaffrey, who has carried the ball 61 more times than the rookie. Achane has totaled 203, 101 and 151 rushing yards over Miami's last three contests while scoring at least one and as many as four total touchdowns in those games. He just keeps breaking off big plays, having gained at least 55 yards on one of his touches in each of those contests as well. His 12.1 yards-per-carry average is astronomical and leads the league by such a large amount that it is barely worth mentioning the player in second place.
Miami is fortunate that it has strong depth at running back. Raheem Mostert is off to a very good start of his own, Jeff Wilson Jr. is expected to have his practice window opened this week after beginning the season on injured reserve and Salvon Ahmed remains a quality depth back as well. The Dolphins also signed Jake Funk to their practice squad after the former Colts back cleared waivers, according to ESPN.
Fantasy focus
From CBS Sports Senior Fantasy Editor Dan Schneier: De'Von Achane simply cannot be replaced by anyone currently on the Dolphins roster or NFL free agency, so the first move is to not expect a one-for-one replacement from a Fantasy Football standpoint.
Achane led all NFL running backs with a 40% avoided tackle rate and he also led the NFL in explosive rush rate (runs of 10 yards or more) at 29%. Miami schemed their offense around Achane's Chris Johson-esque speed – using him on jet sweeps, lined up as a receiver, etc. – and that won't be the case for the next man up. However, the expectation is that Miami will lean more on Raheem Mostert – who Fantasy managers thought might be in the doghouse after fumbling issues through Week 4. Instead of turning to Salvon Ahmed or Jeff Wilson (who is currently on IR) to replace Achane's role as the pre-snap motion weapon, Jaylen Waddle is most likely to inherit it.
Most Fantasy managers don't think of a wide receiver after a running back injury, but Waddle gets a sneaky boost as he is likely to be more involved now from a touches standpoint. The wildcard in the mix is Wilson. Although he missed the first five games of the season, Wilson is tentatively expected back in Week 6. If activated, Wilson is likely to jump Salvon Ahmed in the pecking order and could ultimately work himself into a timeshare with Mostert like we saw at times in 2022. Mostert should be viewed as an RB2 until further notice and Wilson can move into the FLEX conversation as soon as his first game back if the Dolphins deem him healthy enough to handle a workload like he did last season.
You should check out the early waiver wire for Week 6 for tips on who to target this week.
