The Miami Dolphins were not supposed to have a competition at running back. The starting job belongs to De'Von Achane, the backup job was supposed to belong to Ollie Gordon, and Jaylen Wright had one foot out the door.
Needless to say, that isn't the case so far. Wright has looked good through the first week of training camp. He has earned praise from his head coach and appears to be pushing himself up the depth chart. Gordon isn't having a great camp, which helps Wright's case, but the third-year runner is taking it upon himself.
Wright credits his ability to slow things down mentally, let it all go, and just get back to playing football. It may earn him more than a roster spot. In this Dolphins offense, there is room for more than one impact player.
Jaylen Wright is having his best Miami Dolphins training camp since being drafted
Entering this offseason, Wright wasn't being given much of a chance. The Dolphins like what they have seen in Donovan Edwards, the former Michigan Wolverine who spent time with the Jets and Commanders in 2025 but never got on the field.
Edwards remains a long shot to make the 53-man roster, but Wright is making sure that his opportunities are not being wasted.
"Control what I can control. Continue to work and be the guy I am," Wright told the media Thursday. "Just trust trusting God, that's my main thing. You know what I mean? Just being confident."
His confidence is showing. With the ball-handling problems that Gordon has had in camp, Wright is getting the opportunity to widen a gap that few thought would be a possibility.
It wasn't hard to connect the dots with Wright's potential release. He was drafted by Chris Grier, didn't stand out in Mike McDaniel's offense, and seemed to be taking a seat behind Gordon. But if we look a bit deeper, his stats were not that bad.
- 2024 - 68 attempts for 249 yards - 3.7 yards per carry average
- 2025 - 70 attempts for 288 yards - 2 touchdowns - 4.1 yard per carry average
Wright has the ability to produce, and now that he has shed some of the mental hangups, he is in a position to turn heads; he already has.
Wright said his biggest problem was that he believed he needed to make the big play when he touched the ball, instead of taking what was there. "Last year, my biggest thing, and exactly what you said it was when I got in the game, it was, 'I gotta do this." Wright said, "I gotta make a play,' this, that, and the third, and that's not good. Take what they're giving you. Take the little runs. The big runs will come." Wright credits his maturity and growth in the league.
Will that translate to more opportunities in 2026? It should. The Dolphins coaching staff has made two things clear: one, the best players will play, and two, they plan to run the ball a lot. That means they need more than just Achane. Wright is making it clear that he is ready for a bigger role.
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