Thanks to Tyreek Hill, there’s some clarity with Miami’s intentions in goal-line situations. His comments make it clear that the Dolphins won’t be using DeVon Achane for the 1-yard touchdowns this year.
This all came about after Hill was asked about the Dolphins not being a physical enough team – some consider them to be more of a finesse/speed team. Hill responded that he’d like to see Achane (the team’s starting tailback) subbed out in short-yardage situations.
“That’s my honest opinion,” Hill said. “If it’s third-and-short, he’s not a power back. I keep telling him that in the locker room, but he swears he’s a power back. I love DeVon, but if I’m being honest like that’s why you got Jaylen Wright, that’s why you got Ollie Gordon, for those kind of situations.”
Mike McDaniel indicates he was surprised by Hill’s comments, considering the team has already been preparing to lift Achane in those situations.
“I thought it was genius reporting by Tyreek seeing how we had a short-yardage period that very day,” McDaniel said. “That’s exactly how we repped the backs in that short-yardage period that very day.”
For fantasy purposes, if Achane isn’t carrying the ball at the goal line, it should translate into fewer touchdowns.
Raheem Mostert spent the last three years with the Dolphins, running for 23 touchdowns, and over half were from inside 3 yards – 7 from the 1, 3 from the 2 and 2 from the 3-yard line.
If the Dolphins settle on a rotational goal line back – probably Jaylen Wright but perhaps Ollie Gordon – that guy might have some value in TD-only formats. We’d say that with more confidence if Miami’s offensive line (and team) looked more promising.
McDaniel has been running the Dolphins for the last three years, with the offense scoring 51 rushing touchdowns in those 51 games. Just over half from inside the 3 – 13 1-yard runs, 7 from the 2 and 6 from the 3-yard line. But I would guess Miami won’t average a rushing touchdown per week this year.
League-wide over the last 3 years, close to a third of rushing touchdowns are scored from the 1-yard line, with another 20 percent scored from the 2 or 3. That’s where the rushing touchdowns tend to occur, and Achane probably won’t be on the field much for those plays this year.
| RUSHING TOUCHDOWNS | |
|---|---|
| Distance | Pct |
| 1 yard | 30.9% |
| 2 yard | 11.4% |
| 3 yard | 9.3% |
| 4 yard | 5.9% |
| 5 yard | 5.0% |
| 1-5 yds | 62.6% |
| 6-10 yds | 13.4% |
| 11-15 yds | 7.6% |
| 16-20 yds | 4.3% |
| 21-30 yds | 4.3% |
| 31-40 yds | 2.5% |
| 41-50 yds | 2.0% |
| 50-plus | 3.3% |
—Ian Allan