MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. -- The first two times Malik Willis was pressured against a very fast New York pass rush resulted in two hurried throws, neither of which were in the area code of his running back.
It was exactly what prospective Fantasy managers of De'Von Achane feared. Willis is known for his mobility, arm strength, and lack of targets to his running backs, in that order. Over the past two years, only Anthony Richardson threw at a lower rate to his running backs than Willis at 10.2%.
But as a quality quarterback should, Willis adjusted. Over the rest of his 11-on-11 snaps in the Dolphins' joint practice against the Giants, Willis frequently targeted Achane. By my count, Achane had three designed targets, including one in the end zone called back by a penalty on top of two checkdowns when Willis was under duress.
It's not nothing. This was evidence that the Dolphins under offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik were able to adjust in real time to an opponent and make good use of their most effective offensive weapon.
It is a good sign for Achane to retain a lot more of his Fantasy value from 2025 than initially anticipated. Just don't expect a full repeat of his monster season.
Of Achane's 1,838 total yards and 12 total touchdowns, 488 yards and four scores came over 67 of the 85 targets he caught. In a full PPR league, those receiving totals accounted for 43 percent of his PPR total points. That came in a year where Tua Tagovailoa was his primary thrower and Mike McDaniel was his playcaller. There seemed to be an emphasis on Tagovailoa getting the ball out quickly, and frequently it went to Achane (Tagovailoa had a 26.3% target rate to his running backs since 2024).
It is believed that the Dolphins will move into a version of the West Coast offense similar to what Willis ran in Green Bay. Its limitations may only be rooted in whatever it is Willis is unable to effectively do. Given what we saw from him with the Packers, that might not be a long list, which is great for the Dolphins.
Plus it doesn't hurt that Achane had the equivalent of a long touchdown run in team drills against the Giants thanks to some excellent blocking from the right side of his offensive line. He appears to be healthy and ready to roll.
Other concerns exist surrounding Achane. The Miami offense, for one, is expected to not put up a lot of points. But they ranked 25th in the league in points scored last year (20.4 per game) while running the ball more than the league average (45.5% of the time), and Achane was amazing. It wouldn't be surprising in the least to see the Dolphins match both of those averages this year.
And even though coach Jeff Hafley joked about giving Achane "40 to 45" touches a game, the unspoken truth in his statement is that Achane will be leaned on heavily. Such was the case last season when he averaged 14.9 carries and 4.2 catches per game, and he played until Week 18. He's done this before.
If Achane routinely gets around 14 carries per game and picks up three catches per game (he averaged just over four last year -- it's a good idea to expect a decrease this year), that's still plenty of good work. Again, it's not nothing.
Expecting 20-plus PPR points per game again this year from Achane might be a bit much. But if the receptions will be there to some decent degree, and if the Dolphins offense can at least be as solid as they were last season, then it's not crazy to expect just a small decline in production. Not a big one. Eighteen PPR points per game is on the table, and not a lot of running backs offer that kind of upside. By comparison, Achane has a better outlook in PPR leagues than Omarion Hampton, Saquon Barkley and Derrick Henry.
It's why Achane being worth taking as a top-15 pick in full PPR with a drop into Round 2 in half- and non-PPR scoring leagues.
