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MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA – OCTOBER 04: Malik Willis #2 of the Miami Dolphins hands the ball off to Jaylen Wright #5 against the Minnesota Vikings in the first quarter at US Bank Stadium on October 04, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by David Berding/Getty Images)
It was always going to be tough to call what the Miami Dolphins did at running back in Week 4.
They lost De’Von Achane to a torn ACL injury he suffered in Week 3, and so they had to turn to the tandem of Jaylen Wright and Ollie Gordon II against the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday — and it will likely be some form of this split as long as these guys stay healthy.
Many thought Wright would take the lead. He was ahead of Gordon on most depth charts the past two seasons.
Wright was in the game earlier on Sunday, but that didn’t stop Gordon from putting up big numbers.
At the end of three quarters, it was Gordon who had the big day.
He ran for 53 yards in one game, and overall he had eight rushes for 98 yards and a six-yard touchdown.
Wright ran five times for seven yards.
Gordon only had two targets out of the backfield, though they were for zero yards on his two catches.
Why Is Jaylen Wright Doing Nothing?
The reality of this backfield split made it a heated situation.
Wright, before Gordon’s 53-yard run that he capped with a touchdown, had almost as many touches as Gordon.
The problem is that Gordon made his runs more than 10 yards per carry, and Wright averaged 1.4 yards per carry.
The Dolphins have no reason to play Wright in that situation.
Wright is also coming off a foot injury that kept him out in Week 3, while Gordon had 17 carries in relief of Achane in Week 3. These guys are likely at different levels of in-game fitness.
Wright could still have weeks where he’s more available. This looks to be a frustrating split for fantasy football players.
For Week 4, though, Gordon was the clear winner.
Speaking of Odd: Where is Chris Bell?
Another oddity on the Dolphins’ stat sheet through three quarters was that Chris Bell, the rookie wide receiver, didn’t have a catch.
Malik Washington had a reliable day out of the slot, though, so the easiest explanation here is that Malik Willis just found a better place to throw the football on Sunday.
Bell is relatively unproven, so it makes sense that he won’t be consistent.
However — some Dolphins are definitely having better days than others.
Billy Hayen Billy Heyen is a Heavy contributor focused on the NFL and MLB. He is a 2019 graduate of Syracuse University who spent his senior year following Jim Boeheim’s basketball team across the country. His reporting work also includes extensive work for The Sporting News, the Sandusky Register and the Democrat & Chronicle of Rochester. Sports writing ventures also led to personal coverage of the Buffalo Sabres, Cleveland Guardians, US men’s national soccer team and various minor league baseball stories. More about Billy Heyen