De'Von Achane could see 40-plus touch games for Dolphins

Jeff Hafley just told his star running back to get in shape for a workload nobody in the modern NFL really carries anymore. The Dolphins head coach went on 'The Rich Eisen Show' and said De'Von Achane could see games with more than 40 touches in 2026, and he wasn't hedging about it.

Hafley's exact quote, relayed separately by SleeperNFL, was even more colorful: he told Achane there might be games where the coach has to physically pick him up and carry him back to the locker room because he'll be too gassed to walk.

Achane comes into this with real receipts. He posted 1,838 yards from scrimmage and 12 touchdowns on 305 touches in 2025 (238 carries, 67 catches), and per Field Yates, no back with at least 350 carries since 2023 has averaged more fantasy points per touch than Achane.

A 40-touch game isn't just a big number for a highlight reel — it's historically rare. Only four times in the past decade has a player hit 40-plus touches in a single game, and the all-time single-season touches record belongs to James Wilder, who racked up 492 for Tampa Bay back in 1984. If Miami leans on Achane at anything close to the volume Hafley is describing, that four-decade-old mark suddenly becomes relevant.

SleeperNFL's own reaction summed up the skepticism this news is running into: Achane's finished top 5 among running backs in back-to-back seasons, he's Miami's top rushing weapon and top receiving weapon, and he sits on a team that figures to trail often and lean on the pass-catching back — yet plenty of fantasy managers are still fading him in drafts.

None of this locks in a specific stat line for Week 1 — Hafley's comments are a workload projection, not a guarantee, and Miami's offense still has to stay competitive enough to keep feeding him. But between the coach's own words and Achane's efficiency track record, the ceiling talk isn't just hype. If Miami actually pushes him toward 40-touch nights, Achane goes from a high-floor RB1 conversation to one of the most talked-about workhorses in the league heading into kickoff.