Despite signing a four-year extension worth up to $68MM a couple of weeks ago, Dolphins running back De’Von Achane has not been a full participant at OTAs. Head coach Jeff Hafley explained why this week, revealing Achane is on the mend from minor shoulder surgery.
“He’s rehabbing right now, he’s doing well,” Hafley said (via Josh Alper of PFT). “You’ll see him out there doing some drills and doing some running around. You just will not see him in full team drills.”
Achane’s shoulder injury held him out of the Dolphins’ 2025 season finale and prevented him from logging his second straight 17-game campaign. The 24-year-old nevertheless posted personal-best numbers in the third season of his career.
One of the few bright spots on a below-average offense, Achane ran for 1,350 yards on 238 carries (good for an eye-popping 5.7 YPC) and added eight touchdowns. He found the end zone four more times as a pass catcher and notched 67 receptions for 488 yards. Achane earned his first Pro Bowl nod in what turned out to be the offensive-minded Mike McDaniel‘s last season as the Dolphins’ head coach.
McDaniel and former general manager Chris Grier were at the helm when the Dolphins reeled in Achane in the third round of the 2023 draft. The Dolphins’ new regime of Hafley and GM Jon-Eric Sullivan could have moved on from Achane via trade, as they did with receiver Jaylen Waddle in a blockbuster deal with the Broncos. Instead, in the early stages of a full rebuild, Dolphins leadership identified Achane as a foundational piece. Assuming he remains healthy for most of all or 2026, he should easily serve as the Dolphins’ top offensive threat and provide a much-needed weapon for new starting quarterback Malik Willis.
Miami’s hope is that young wide receiver Chris Bell will join Achane as a key offensive building block, but the rookie third-rounder (94th overall) is a bit behind as he begins his career. The former Louisville standout is only six months removed from tearing his ACL last November. Bell is working his way back but remains without a timeline for a full return, Hafley said (via Marcel Louis-Jacques of ESPN).
It appears Bell will begin training camp on the active/PUP list. If he returns during the summer, he could have a chance to compete for a role in a receiving corps that lacks proven starters in the wake of the Waddle trade. Tutu Atwell, Jalen Tolbert, Malik Washington and Terrace Marshall are among the veterans in the fold, but nobody from that group has put up strong production in the NFL. That explains why Miami used three of its league-high 13 draft picks on receivers. Before taking Bell, the Dolphins invested a third-rounder (No. 75) in Caleb Douglas. They also added Kevin Coleman Jr. in the fifth round (177th).