Dolphins select Texas A&M RB Devon Achane with No. 84 overall pick in 2023 NFL Draft
The Dolphins selected Texas A&M running back Devon Achane with the No. 84 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft on Friday night, adding another speedy player to head coach Mike McDaniel’s offense.
Achane, 5-8 and 188 pounds, rushed for 1,102 yards and eight touchdowns this past season as he received first-team All-SEC honors. The fastest running back in the draft, Achane ran a 4.32 in the 40-yard dash. A three-year player for the Aggies, Achane backed up Isaiah Spiller, now of the Los Angeles Chargers, before breaking out in 2021 and running for 910 yards and three touchdowns.
An Aggies source previously told the Miami Herald that the team spent considerable time with Achane, 21, during the predraft process, including meeting with him at the NFL Scouting Combine. And after the pick, McDaniel acknowledged Achane was a player he heavily coveted.
“Speed we generally like around here,” McDaniel said. “But I think it’s more of you feel like there’s a fit in terms of a guy fitting within your existing team. You’re always keeping in mind that you’re adding players to the team and really think that that group in particular, the running back room for us is very important. You find a person and player that fits your skill set that you like but also that fits within the room because we have some other good competition in there as well. So we’re real excited to add player to a group. And he is fast. [General manager] Chris [Grier] and I share that – we do have affection for that trait.”
The selection of Achane marks the first time the Dolphins have taken a running back in the first three rounds since they picked Kenyan Drake with the No. 76 pick in the 2016 Draft.
“This is probably about two years we’ve watched him,” general manager Chris Grier said. “We talked about him last year a little bit with some of the flashes you saw out of him. Then just watching him this year and getting to know him, we brought him in on a “30” visit and spent some time with him and got to know him as a person. We watched film and probably about two or three weeks ago, Mike was convicted in his love for the player. We all were but he was very effusive.”
A native of Missouri City, Texas, Achane joins a running back room that includes Raheem Mostert, Jeff Wilson Jr, Salvon Ahmed and Myles Gaskin, all of whom were re-signed this offseason.
Since McDaniel arrived in Miami, the Dolphins have prioritized speed as they revamped a unit that was one of the most dynamic this past season. Last offseason, Miami acquired wide receiver Tyreek Hill in a trade to form the league’s fastest receiver tandem with Jaylen Waddle — whom Achane played AAU basketball with — and signed Mostert, also one of the fastest-timed players in the league. And earlier in the month, the Dolphins signed wideout Chosen Anderson, who in his best seasons has been one of the league’s top deep threats.
“It’s going to be a real scary offense,” Achane said. “We’re all pretty fast. I feel like it’s going to be very competitive at practice ... Coach McDaniel, when I had that talk with him, he was saying that he planned on building the fastest team in the NFL. So by adding me to that piece, that’s something that’s, like that’s a guarantee. So it’s going to be real fun and competitive at practice. I just can’t wait to get there.”
Achane was the Dolphins’ second pick on Friday night, coming after the team’s selection of South Carolina cornerback Cam Smith at No. 51 overall.
The Dolphins have two picks on Day 3, one each in the sixth round (No. 197) and seventh round (No. 238).
