Unsettled situations: Miami Dolphins backfield

Rumors swirling around Miami’s intentions make for a tough prediction.

You have to go back to the 2016 season to find the last time the Miami Dolphins ranked in the upper half of the NFL in rushing. In the six years since, Miami has ranked 29th, 18th, 32nd, 22nd, 30th, and 25th, respectively — last year’s finish represented an average of 99.2 yards per game. Despite limited success in that department under first-year head coach Mike McDaniel, the Dolphins brought back their two leading rushers in running backs Raheem Mostert and Jeff Wilson Jr., both of whom followed McDaniel from the San Francisco 49ers to Miami.

They didn’t play a pat hand, though, using a third-round pick on RB De’Von Achane, a move that likely signaled the end of the line for holdover RBs Salvon Ahmed and/or Myles Gaskin. Even with that, there’s some belief that the Dolphins aren’t done making moves at the running back position, as they’ve been frequently mentioned as a possible destination for free-agent RB Dalvin Cook, who was released by the Minnesota Vikings in June.

For now, however, Cook remains a free agent, so we’re going to look at what Miami has available in their running back room as of today, and what we might expect from them, barring another move.

Fantasy football: 2023 NFL free agency roundup

NFL free agency will drastically help reshape the fantasy football landscape as the new league year begins.

Now that NFL free agency is upon us, we’ll run through the fantasy football outlooks for trades, re-signings, midrange players, and tag recipients.

This analysis will be updated as players sign/re-sign in free agency, so be sure to check back regularly.

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San Francisco’s backfield could get messy for fantasy football purposes

A committee approach could wreak havoc on fantasy football plans.

When examining the San Francisco 49ers’ ground game, one aspect deserves top billing. In five seasons under the leadership of head coach Kyle Shanahan, the 49ers have had five different leading rushers: Carlos Hyde (2017), Matt Breida (2018), Raheem Mostert (2019), Jeff Wilson Jr. (2020), and Elijah Mitchell (2021). That’s long enough to be considered a trend, and it’s one that doesn’t seem to bode very well for Mitchell, a second-year back with durability concerns.

Mitchell sits atop the depth chart for the time being, however, where he’ll be joined by Wilson, the team’s top rusher in 2020, Trey Sermon, last year’s third-round pick who struggled through a tough rookie campaign. If that weren’t already enough competition, insert Tyrion Price-Davis, whom the 49ers invested a third-round choice on this year with the hope he could provide the type of power running Shanahan loves.

Beyond that already-crowded group is wide receiver Deebo Samuel, who became more involved in the running game last season, finishing second on the team in rushing yards (365) while averaging 6.2 yards per carry. That’s a lot of variables to consider, so let’s look at the San Francisco backfield to see how things might shake out.

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