Hidden amidst the major letdown that was, once again, the NFL trade deadline, was the news that Myles Gaskin suffered an MCL sprain and will miss up to three weeks. Dolphins offensive coordinator, Chan Gailey, is now facing the onerous task of piecing together a serviceable backfield from the mishmash of Miami running backs.
Enter DeAndre Washington, who the Dolphins acquired at the deadline for a late-round pick. Last season, Washington notched three starts with the then Raiders in the absence of Josh Jacobs. In those three games, Washington averaged 18 rush attempts and north of six targets per game. With those opportunities, Washington averaged 71.6 rush yards per game and 39.6 rec. yards per game. Washington also tallied four touchdowns, two on the ground and two through the air.
Although it came about eight months too late, The Wolf all of a sudden looks like a prophet when he called for the marriage between Gailey and Washington during free agency.
DeAndre Washington notched 3 starts in 2019. His fantasy totals & finishes:
21.6 (RB9)
18.6 (RB11)
21.2 (RB9)He's the top 2020 Sleeper Free Agent RB. Would love to see him land w/ #Dolphins, as he'd fit into Chan Gailey's spread attack seamlessly
— Wolf of Roto Street (@RotoStreetWolf) March 7, 2020
Coming out of college, Washington thrived in a pass-heavy spread attack system alongside Patrick Mahomes. Gailey’s vaunted spread attack has made sweet lemonade out of some really unsexy backfields.
Under Chan Gailey
Fred Jackson paced for 334 tch (62 rec), 2202 YFS, 10 TDs (2011)
CJ Spiller = actually a thing – 250 tch (43 rec), 1703 YFS, 8 TDs ('12)
Chris Ivory lead AFC in rush yds – 1287 YFS, 7 TDs on 277 tch (30 Rec)
Do Jordan Howard & Matt Breida have sneaky upside?
— Wolf of Roto Street (@RotoStreetWolf) June 4, 2020
While it hasn’t worked out for Jordan Howard and Matt Breida down in South Beach, as noted, Washington has proven he’s capable of shouldering a workload. With Jacobs sidelined last season, Washington saw 20, 25, and 25 touches and never fell below 96 total yards. So, while he’s known as a third-down specialist, he low-key drips in three-down upside.
According to Fantasy Points’ Graham Barfield, Gaskin was on the field for 66 percent of the offensive snaps. The second-year back never saw less than 15 rush attempts in a game and averaged five targets per game. As if the opportunity presented to Washington wasn’t any sexier, Gaskin averaged 86 percent of the carries inside the ten-yard line.
While, as of right now, Washington might have to compete with Howard, Breida, and 2019 fan favorite, Patrick Laird for immediate touches in the Dolphins’ backfield. And, the upcoming schedule isn’t looking too promising with the Cardinals (15th vs RBs), the Chargers (9th), and the Broncos (6th) on tap.
From a talent and scheme perspective at a sixth-round price, the Dolphins acquired Washington for basically nothing. On the flip side, the Dolphins have so little invested in Washington that he could be nothing more than a three-week depth piece.
If you have bench space available, Washington is worth a Week 9 Waiver Wire stash and could give a jolt to a backfield that’s missing its workhorse for a few weeks.
