Should You Start De’Von Achane or Jeff Wilson Jr. in Fantasy Football in Week 13?

For all the talk about the Miami Dolphins’ high-scoring offense and its star power at the quarterback and receiver positions, it’s worth noting that they are also the league’s second-best rushing team, averaging 145.2 rush yards per game. So, should fantasy football managers consider starting one of their running backs in their lineup this week? We’ll let you know.

Should You Start De’Von Achane or Jeff Wilson Jr. This Week?

In the Pro Football Network Start/Sit Optimizer, our Consensus Rankings say that RB De’Von Achane is the player to start. His projected 8.8 points include 40 rushing yards, two receptions, and 14 receiving yards. That projected stat line narrowly outperforms the consensus projection of Jeff Wilson Jr.’s 6.6 points.

My ranking for these Dolphins running backs aligns with the consensus. Assuming he’s healthy, Achane’s big-play potential is too much to overlook when measuring these two players.

Fantasy Outlook for Achane This Week

When it comes to deciding whether or not to put Achane in your fantasy football starting lineup lately, the issue has been about health — not production. Over the last six weeks, a knee injury has caused Achane to miss five of them and leave another after only three offensive snaps.

The good news on the injury front is that while he was a limited participant, Achane did return to practice Wednesday, meaning his chances to play Sunday have to be somewhat promising.

MORE: PFN’s FREE NFL Playoff Predictor

When he’s played, Achane has been a factor in the Dolphins’ high-octane offense. He is averaging a ridiculously impressive 11.8 yards per carry. To put that in some context, consider that there are 40 players this season who have rushed for 400 or more yards. 39 of those 40 players have at least 70 rush attempts on the season.

Achane has 461 yards on only 39 carries.

It’s also not a surprise that Achane has the most carries of 40+ yards this season (four). RB Raheem Mostert is the touchdown machine for Miami, but Achane has seven touchdowns this season on 39 touches.

He and the rest of the Miami offense could really feast on a Washington Commanders’ defense, a unit that is allowing 5.9 yards per play this season — the third-most in the NFL.

Achane’s health should be monitored this week — and probably for the rest of the season — but if he is able to take the field Sunday, he has to be considered the top choice among these two backs to get the start.

Fantasy Outlook for Wilson This Week

Injuries to his midsection and his fingers forced Wilson to start the season on the injured reserve. He didn’t make his season debut until Week 7, and his first carry of the season didn’t occur until Week 8.

Still, he showed his potential for fantasy football managers last week, rushing for 56 yards on 11 carries in the Black Friday win over the New York Jets.

If either Mostert and/or Achane aren’t able to play this week, Wilson appears to be more than capable of putting up numbers in this offense.

But, if these two are both healthy, it really doesn’t make sense to start Wilson.

The PFN Start/Sit Optimizer projects Wilson to finish with 32 yards with one reception for nine yards.

Looking to make a trade in your fantasy league? Having trouble deciding who to start and who to sit? Setting DFS lineups? Check out PFN’s Free Fantasy Football Trade Analyzer and DFS Lineup Optimizer to help you make the right decision!