Mostert, Achane snubbed from top-20 in ESPN running back rankings

We’re inching ever closer to the start of the 2024 NFL season, but with the offseason still dragging on, content creators are continuing to roll out their rankings for various football related things.

The latest list carries some weight, however, as ESPN senior NFL national reporter, Jeremy Fowler, polled league executives, coaches and scouts to determine the top 10 players at multiple positions in the National Football League — with running backs up first.

Spoiler alert: the Miami Dolphins are not represented well on this list.

Raheem Mostert — who rushed for 1,012 yards and 18 touchdowns in 2023 — didn’t make the top 10. In fact, he didn’t even make the top 20! Mostert was ranked as the 21st best running back in the NFL, just behind Tony Pollard and James Conner.

Wait… it might get worse.

De’Von Achane — Miami’s electric rookie who rushed for 800 yards on just 103 attempts (7.8 yards per carry) and 8 touchdowns in 2023 — didn’t even make the list of 25 players receiving votes.

ESPN’s full article is behind a paywall, so I won’t spoil their entire list, but some names receiving votes and therefore listed in the top 25 include Austin Ekeler, Kyren Williams, Najee Harris and James Cook.

An argument can be made that Mostert and Achane’s shared success hurt them in these rankings, as many of the backs ranked ahead of them are the primary ball-carriers for their teams (or former teams).

At the end of the day, rankings are fun to look at, but what matters most is success on the field in the form of wins, and Miami will continue to lean on both Mostert and Achane in 2024 to achieve those victories.