The Miami Dolphins appear ready to destroy every player on their roster this offseason, except one. They declined to accept a trade for running back De’Von Akan.
This seems strange. The devaluation of running backs in the NFL has become a notable trend. But the Dolphins, who traded receiver Jaylen Waddle to the Denver Broncos this offseason, aren’t backing down on trading their young running backs.
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Then Archaon got a contract extension from the Dolphins, and maybe that made more sense.
Archaon signed a four-year, $64 million contract on Wednesday. Archaon does get paid a lot of money…as a running back. He is the third-highest-paid running back in the NFL in terms of annual value, behind only Christian McCaffrey and Saquon Barkley. But for an offensive playmaker, and someone with the ability to impact a game like Achane, $16 million per season is completely reasonable. He’s a high-paid running back, but his contract is valuable for receivers.
Is it possible that this devalued running back becomes the NFL’s new favorite?
Miami Dolphins’ D’Von Akan signed a four-year contract extension with the team this week. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)
(Julio Aguilar via Getty Images)
Devon Akan’s influence
As running back values decline in the draft and free agency, the market for receivers has skyrocketed.
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Alec Pierce is probably the best example. Pierce, a 2022 second-round pick, had little impact for the Indianapolis Colts in two seasons, never reaching 600 yards in a season. He made huge strides in 2024, leading the NFL in yards per reception and catching seven touchdowns, and then in 2025, he built on that with his first 1,000-yard season. Pierce had 1,003 yards and six touchdowns before signing a four-year, $114 million contract to stay with the Colts before becoming a free agent this offseason.
There’s no question that Pierce, who averaged over 21 yards per catch the past two seasons, has a huge impact and is a player who continues to improve at a key position. But the Akan deal was 56% of what Pierce got. Akan had nearly twice as many touches last season (305) as Pierce had in four seasons combined (156). Akan scored 12 touchdowns last season, while Pierce has just 17 touchdowns and 1,838 yards from scrimmage in his career. This is not to say that Achane is inefficient; He averaged 5.7 yards per carry, which ranked first in the league.
It’s reasonable to think that a receiver like Pierce can impact a defense in different ways and that his backup value is higher than even the best running backs. But as the contract indicates, does Akan really only have 56% of Pierce’s offensive capabilities?
Archaon trade is routine for RB
Akan’s new contract would rank him 30th among receivers in terms of earnings per season, according to Spotrac. Players he backed include Calvin Ridley, Michael Pittman Jr., Jerry Jeudy, Wan’Dale Robinson and Romeo Doubs. He was also the driving force behind Rashid Shaheed, who signed a $17 million per season contract with the Seattle Seahawks in the offseason. Shahid has tremendous value as a returner, but he has 15 receptions and no offensive touchdowns in half a season with the Seahawks. Is he more valuable than Archaon, who has 238 rushing attempts and leads the league in yards per carry? The NFL thinks so. Money talks.
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The NFL’s shift toward the running game was a significant trend last season. More and more teams are using multiple tight end lineups to attack defenses that have gotten smaller and smaller over the years to cover spread offenses. Many tight ends received good deals in the offseason, with many being drafted high in April. The team looks to get explosive performance in the run game to counter defensive schemes and eliminate big plays in the passing game with two deep safeties. It seems reasonable that these offenses would crave elite running backs to maximize this approach.
A Gan is obviously an elite. He is an explosive runner who also excels as a pass rusher. He is also only 24 years old. There may be concerns about whether he can last long, especially considering he’s only 191 pounds. But in a salary cap world, the Dolphins decided that the running back being paid $16 million per season was so valuable that it wasn’t worth accepting a trade offer for him, even if they traded Waddle for their young receivers. The NFL market would probably say that if Waddle hits free agency, he’ll be worth about twice as much as Akan, like Pierce.
The NFL world was confused when the Dolphins said they wouldn’t trade Archaon. Maybe Miami figured something out before the market caught up.