Dolphins Draft Devon Achane: Dynasty Rookie Outlook (2023 Fantasy Football)

The 2023 NFL Draft is here! After months of waiting, we finally know where the 2023 NFL Draft class will land. This information shapes the outlook for rookies in 2023 and beyond. We’re going to have you covered throughout and following the 2023 NFL Draft to help you prepare for your fantasy football leagues. Next up for many will be dynasty rookie drafts. To help you prepare to make your dynasty rookie draft picks, let’s dive into Thor Nystrom’s 2023 NFL Draft profile as well as Pat Fitzmaurice’s dynasty rookie draft outlook for Devon Achane.

Dynasty Rookie Picks & Predictions: Dolphins Draft Devon Achane

Let’s first see what NFL Draft expert Thor Nystrom says about Devon Achane.

Thor Nystrom’s 2023 NFL Draft Outlook & Player Comp

Player comparison: Jahvid Best

Strengths
Defense is aware of Achane at all times. Devastating, game-breaking speed requires it to be. Achane takes the corner almost at will. So very dangerous when he turns upfield and hits the jets. Angles get erased one-by-one.

Achane was underutilized by A&M as a receiver. But in instances where the Aggies would motion Achane out wide or into the slot, defenders would wildly gesticulate in his direction. All 11 defenders know that if Achane has the ball in space, there’s a chance they’ll all be rendered helpless by his speed – so he garnered as much attention and care as any runner his size who has entered the NFL over the past five years.

Underrated receiver. Soft hands. Too often, when used in this phase, Achane was the last-resort checkdown, and he rarely got the ball in advantageous situations to show off his movement post-catch. Multiple instances on film of poorly-thrown balls to him even as a checkdown – A&M’s quarterback play the last few years was bad.

Achane is an odd smaller back in that he doesn’t dance around much. We’ll return to this below, as it’s both a strength and a weakness – but the part of it that I like is that Achane is an arrow that is generally always pointed upfield with his gas on the pedal.

This is not a throwaway tendency: Small backs that dance can have a tendency to leave yards on the field if not equipped with elite movement. Big thumper backs get the “always falling forward” moniker – Achane is a small back who shares in common the ethos of getting upfield.

This allows him to both steal excess yards given to him, but also get started hurdling downfield quicker and more suddenly than most backs of this ilk. When Achane shakes a guy in closer quarters, it’s usually via one-cut – getting a downhill defender over-leveraged in one direction and using his momentum against him. He has the hammer of his acceleration and deceleration to-and-from top speed.

Will be an awesome return man on special teams from Day 1 – born to do this.

Weaknesses
Achane weighed into the NFL Combine at 188 pounds, but he’ll likely play around 185.

He’s not a good blocker, in large part due to the lack of play strength. There are instances on film of Achane squaring up blitzers and impeding their process in pass-pro, but never for long – generally he’s a speed-bump.

On play fakes when Achane finds himself in space with the opportunity to block a linebacker or defensive back, he’s generally going through the motions if the play design is the other way. He knows he doesn’t have the muscle to take care of larger defenders, and I think he also knows that his frame can only sustain so much contact each game before his special-sauce movement begins to depreciate.

Returning to Achane’s lack of interest in shaking defenders out of their shoes. He doesn’t have a deep bag of tricks to shake defenders. So when defenders get an angle on him and get on his doorstep, they can get him to the ground without help. Achane isn’t running through arm tackles if he isn’t at top speed.

2023 Dynasty Rookie Draft Outlook: Devon Achane

There were some terrible landing spots for rookie running backs in this year’s NFL Draft, but the Dolphins’ selection of Devon Achane in the third round should bode well for Achane’s dynasty value. Miami’s other running backs include 31-year-old Raheem Mostert, 27-year-old Jeff Wilson, and bit players Myles Gaskin and Salvon Ahmed. Achane has a good chance to carve out a meaningful role in the Dolphins’ backfield right away.

An electric runner with 4.3 speed and a bagful of cuts, jump stops and stutter steps, Achane is a headache for defenders. He has impressive contact balance and tackle-breaking ability for a 5-9, 188-pound running back and was surprisingly successful running between the tackles at Texas A&M. Achane wasn’t necessarily a high-volume pass-catcher for the Aggies (60-457-4 receiving over his last two seasons), but he’s a good receiver who could end up with a passing-down role.

At 5-9 and 188 pounds, Achane isn’t cut out for a workhorse role and will likely be a committee back. Blocking isn’t Achane’s forte, which might make his coaches think twice about using him on obvious passing downs.

Achane could come off the board at the tail end of the first round in 1QB dynasty rookie drafts, but he could also sllip into the second round. In superflex leagues, he’s likely to be taken in the early-to-mid second round.