Fantasy Football Week 6 Running Back Rankings: How will the Dolphins replace De'Von Achane?

Chris Towers walks you through his Week 6 RB rankings

By Chris Towers

Oct 15, 2023 at 8:58 am ET • 5 min read

Getty Images

Before we get to the running back rankings for Week 6 of the Fantasy Football season, here are my thoughts on the Dolphins backfield in the wake of De'Von Achane's injury, Zack Moss, Rhamondre Stevenson, and some of the biggest questions facing the position this week:

Do the Dolphins still have two Fantasy-relevant running backs?

De'Von Achane's knee injury, which landed him on IR this week, is a huge blow for Fantasy players and for the Dolphins offense, which has been the league's best at running the ball, in no small part thanks to Achane ripping off big gain after big gain en route to 454 yards on over 12 yards per carry over the past three weeks. He'll be sidelined for at least the next four games, which leaves a massive hole in Miami's backfield.

Raheem Mostert will fill most of that hole, and while he's not on Achane's level as an explosive playmaker, he brings plenty to the table himself; Mostert's 43-yard touchdown run in Week 4 saw him hit 21.62 mph, the fastest time by any ball carrier this season except for Achane and, of course, Tyreek Hill. The Dolphins are plenty fast, even without Achane, though they'll obviously miss him. And they've got another back coming back potentially as soon as Week 6 who brings some speed to the table himself.

Jeff Wilson isn't on Mostert or Achane's level, but he did have the fastest carry by a 49er last season. Wilson opened the season on IR due to an abdominal injury, and he has some short-term value once he's cleared to play, though that won't be in Week 6 as he's already been ruled out. It will be tough to trust him right away for Fantasy, but Wilson definitely deserves to be rostered in all leagues with Achane out. For Week 6, Salvon Ahmed is a viable RB streamer if you need one, with the hope he gets a lot of garbage time run.

Is Zack Moss the Colts lead RB moving forward?

I'll admit, I did not see Moss playing 80% of the snaps in Jonathan Taylor's first game, but maybe we should have seen something like it coming. After all, Taylor's practice reps last week were his first since last December, which means they were his first with new coach Shane Steichen and new QB Anthony Richardson. Taylor was healthy, but he may not have been fully up to speed, either physically due to conditioning or with the offense.

Of course, with Moss putting up 195 total yards Sunday, it gets a lot harder to just assume Taylor is going to come take that RB1 role from him. I think it will happen, certainly, but it might be more of a wait than expected. Moss has looked awesome as the lead back, including contributing more than expected as a pass-catcher, so we might be looking at a true committee here moving forward. Which might just make both of them worth starting. The Colts want to play fast, and they want to run the ball, and having two backs they trust could be just what they want.

It just might not be what we want to see from Taylor, whose path to a top-five RB run looks more uncertain than it did after they announced his return. I'll still bet on him getting close eventually, because he's too talented a back to remain in a backup role for long. But he might be more like a top-20 RB at least for the next few weeks. But given how many of the RB2 class look untrustworthy right now, I might be inclined to just rank both as top-24 options in this offense.

Is Rhamondre Stevenson just done as a useful Fantasy option?

I am by no means buying stock in the Patriots offense right now because it seems extremely short on talent and schematic answers. But things won't be this bleak forever. They've had a really tough schedule to open the season, and I'd bet their consecutive games with no touchdowns will be the rock-bottom point.

I'd still bet on it being a bottom-half offense the rest of the way, and probably a bottom-10 one too, but that would still represent a significant improvement. However, that's not the only thing holding Stevenson back right now, as he's also splitting work with Ezekiel Elliott a lot more than most expected.

And that's the part that might not change enough to save Stevenson's role. I'm pretty confident that Stevenson is a better player than Elliott at this point in their careers, but he just hasn't really shown it yet. The sooner he changes that, the sooner his role will grow; if you're confident in Stevenson as a player, you should probably bet on him taking on a bigger share of the RB work than his 60% rush share and his 44% share of the RB targets.

I'd start both members of the Dolphins and Colts backfields ahead of Stevenson this week; I'd start Jaleel McLaughlin over him, too, if Javonte Williams is out. I'd consider it with D'Onta Foreman and Brian Robinson, and potentially even Emari Demercado if James Conner and Keaontay Ingram are sidelined this week. But that still keeps Stevenson squarely in the RB3 range of the rankings, and I'd be willing to trust him over Jerome Ford against the 49ers, the Panthers backs, and any non-Saquon Barkley Giants option. Stevenson may never unlock that top-12 upside we hoped he would have, but better days are ahead if you want to buy low at his absolute low point.