Who Should I Start? De'Von Achane or Bucky Irving

Sunday, February 1, 6:56 AM

The Miami Dolphins offense faces plenty of question marks this offseason, but running back De'Von Achane offers refreshing consistency. Achane is under contract for the 2026 season and has been playing the best football of his young career. He finished last season with a career-high 1,350 rushing yards, and he also caught 67 passes for 488 receiving yards. For the second year in a row, he scored 12 touchdowns and was the overall RB5 in full-PPR leagues. This past year, he accomplished those marks despite missing one game. Miami did make a concerted effort to get Ollie Gordon II and Jaylen Wright more involved, but that decision didn't really detract from Achane's role. If anything, it kept his legs fresh and allowed him to remain as dominant as ever. The Dolphins did make a coaching staff change this offseason, replacing offensive-minded head coach Mike McDaniel with the defensive-minded Jeff Hafley. Achane also got a new offensive coordinator in Bobby Slowik, who was with the Dolphins as a senior passing game coordinator in 2025. Miami has some key questions to answer surrounding quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and wide receiver Tyreek Hill this offseason. As a result, the passing game faces major uncertainty. However, we expect the running game to remain unchanged, leaving Achane in line for another fantastic season in 2026. He should be a top-five running back in fantasy football drafts next summer.

Tuesday, February 10, 2:23 PM

Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Bucky Irving was a disappointment for fantasy managers in 2025 while missing seven games because of shoulder and foot injuries. New offensive coordinator Zac Robinson had good things to say about Irving, though, and the 23-year-old could be a popular bounce-back candidate this fall with Rachaad White likely to leave in free agency. "I see Bucky in a very similar light [to Bijan Robinson] there with what he can do in the passing game, and there's not a run concept that he can't run," Robinson said. "So I'm excited to work with Bucky and know that there is a ton of meat on the bone in the passing game." Irving, a fourth-rounder in 2024 out of Oregon, rushed for 588 yards and only one touchdown on 173 carries in 10 games in 2025, but he proved to be worthy of lead-back duties after carrying the ball 207 times for 1,122 yards and eight rushing TDs in 17 games as a rookie. Don't sleep on Irving going into next season.