The Miami Dolphins may be heading toward a very frustrating decision in Week 4.
After De’Von Achane’s season-ending torn ACL, fantasy football players used priority waivers claims or lots of their bidding budget to claim Ollie Gordon II, who had 17 carries after Achane left last week’s game.
The problem is that Gordon may not actually be the lead back with Achane out for the season.
Jaylen Wright might actually be the man.
Is that confusing on the surface? Maybe a little. But once you look at the facts, it makes a lot of sense.
Gordon certainly isn’t a sure thing.
Jaylen Wright Outlook
Wright has a strong chance to lead this backfield in touches in Week 4, and going forward.
He’s the better pass-catching back, but that’s not the main point here.
The reality is that Wright was the RB2 behind Achane, not Gordon. Wright just happened to be missing Week 3 with a foot injury.
He’s healthy now, and that would suggest that he’s actually the next man up, even if Gordon was temporarily that in Week 3.
There are writers who cover the Dolphins who think Wright is going to be the guy, like Joe Schad at the Palm Beach Post:
Dolphins’ De’Von Achane out for season: Why Jaylen Wright gets edge as successor
— Joe Schad (@schadjoe) September 30, 2026
It’s unlikely that either RB in this backfield now gets the level of work that Achane got. They also aren’t as good as Achane.
And in the early going, Achane wasn’t even having a great season. Miami isn’t moving the football very well.
But if the Dolphins move it in the weeks ahead, Wright might be the guy making it happen, not Gordon.
Ollie Gordon Outlook
For those of you who already made a big fantasy add for Gordon, don’t cut ties immediately.
It’s worth waiting to see how this plays out for a couple of reasons.
For one, Gordon is a bruising runner who did score a touchdown from three yards out against the Chiefs. He could retain a goal-line role, at least, and TDs are obviously valuable.
Gordon also was a star in college at Oklahoma State before regressing mightily in his final NCAA season, so there’s definitely some talent here.
The tough part is the other side of the coin — even with huge opportunity in Week 3, Gordon ran for just 3.0 yards per carry. If he’s inefficient with his carries, he’ll only be slightly useful to the Dolphins or your fantasy team.
Especially given that Wright is coming off injury, it’s safe to expect some work for Gordon in Week 4. Whether he can keep it up beyond that, though, might be a bit out of his control and instead fall on whether the previous backup Wright can prove he deserves the top role.
Dolphins’ Jaylen Wright, Ollie Gordon Split Might Disappoint Fantasy Players