Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel details expectations he has for RB De’Von Achane in his second season

The Miami Dolphins caught lightning in a bottle with rookie running back De’Von Achane in 2023.

The speedy rookie, who the Dolphins drafted in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft, took the league by storm last fall.  Achane totaled 800 rushing yards on just 103 carries (7.8 yards per carry) and 8 rushing scores while adding 197 receiving yards on 27 catches for 3 more touchdowns.

The question is: how does Achane build on that red-hot start to his career in his second season?  Mike McDaniel met with the media on Tuesday and explained what his hopes are for his star young runner in 2024.

“I think important offseason for him because you were just really hanging on by your coattails as a rookie in this league in general,” McDaniel said.  “The way things are kind of structured is there’s so much time devoted to working out and getting your testing numbers right and then the second that you – and you’re training for kind of these timed measurables. Then you immediately transition once you’re drafted into kind of practicing. You get a little breath of a break and then you’re still on your rookie season. Year 2, you kind of let everything settle, understand much more of the whys of everything that you do and for him, the more he can understand within the offense, the more ways he can get the ball.

“He had outstanding ball production, some of which I know he feels specifically that there’s more out there from the opportunities he had last year and then being able to find different ways to get people the ball whether that’s different types of pass routes, whether that’s different types of run schemes that you can get comfortable with, all those things. More ways to be at the point of attack to play within this offense, that’s what this offseason really provides for him. Seeing some strength gains and you can tell by his body he’s put some work into it and then him just understanding everything about our offense so he can be as big a part of it as possible. That’s his goal.”

Achane was a revelation for the Dolphins’ offense last season.  Achane earned rookie of the week honors after 203 rushing yards and totaling five total touchdowns in a 70-20 destruction of the Denver Broncos in September.

However, a knee injury landed Achane on injured reserve in October, very likely costing him the chance at cracking the 1000-yard rushing mark as a rookie.

Now, he will form part of a talented trio in the backfield with Raheem Mostert and rookie Jaylen Wright, who the Dolphins took in the fourth round of the draft back in April.  However, as McDaniel notes, if Achane has indeed increased his understanding of the offense to go with his increased strength gains in the offseason, there could be a big year coming for him in his sophomore season this fall.