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Dolphins’ Raheem Mostert to bring along another rookie RB; David Long likes teaming up with Jordyn Brooks

david furones, south florida sun-sentinel
·4 min read

It was just a year ago that Miami Dolphins running back Raheem Mostert was answering a similar question.

For the second consecutive offseason, as he comes off a new career high in rushing, the Dolphins drafted a rookie at his position in the middle rounds of the draft.

The addition of De’Von Achane to the backfield in 2023 was clearly a successful one. As a rookie third-round pick, he set a new modern-era yards-per-carry record in a season. But now with the Mostert-Achane tandem in place, Miami doubled down with young, speedy running back acquisitions, selecting Tennessee’s Jaylen Wright after a trade into the fourth round.

“My reaction at the time was, ‘Yeah, whatever, it is what it is.’ Same typical thing, draft drama, pretty much all the time, regardless of position,” Mostert said Tuesday, speaking to reporters on a web conference call.

“I’m honestly excited to have Jaylen come in, just another Jaylen coming in the mix, on the team. Excited to have him here, try to coach him up, try to help him out within this offense. I’m all about in-person experiences.”

With Dolphins rookie minicamp starting Friday, Mostert will get another chance to begin taking another young tailback under his wing.

“The more the merrier,” Mostert said. “In this offense, we can utilize a bunch of different attributes, and speed is definitely an attribute we like to maximize to the best of our ability. To be able to have another guy come in the mix and bring his attributes and his contributions into the offense and his speed is going to be beneficial in our offense. We can use three backs out there with a receiver and a tight end, as well.”

That proposed formation seems hyperbolic, but never count out anything out of the ordinary when it comes to coach Mike McDaniel running an offense.

And Mostert, who had his first 1,000-yard rushing season in 2023 and set team records with 18 rushing touchdowns and 21 total touchdowns, can feel solidified knowing he was rewarded this offseason with a reworked contract.

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“I had a stellar year last year, and then this upcoming year wasn’t necessarily guaranteed, so me and my agent, we sat down and decided to try to work something out and, thankfully, we did,” Mostert said. “And we were able to get it done fairly early. And now we’re here. Added an extra year on the contract, and it’s going to be a good one.”

Mostert turned 32 last month, but since he blossomed late, he doesn’t feel the same narrative about running backs declining once they hit 30 years old should apply to him because he didn’t have the early wear-and-tear on his body in his career.

Second and Long

Linebacker David Long Jr. goes into his second season with the Dolphins, and he has even newer faces in the linebacker corps now after the team released Jerome Baker and picked up Jordyn Brooks and Anthony Walker Jr. in free agency.

“I had a lot of fun playing with Bake,” Long said Tuesday. “The good thing about the league is that it’s a lot of good guys in this league. I feel like JB came in and Walk came in, fit right in.

“As far as how we fit into the defense, it’s feeling so good right now. Everybody’s clicking and learning every day.”

The Dolphins are several weeks into their offseason workout program at this point. Organized team activities begin May 20 with mandatory minicamp in June.

“Right now, everybody’s clicking, and it starts off the field, as well,” Long said. “How tight is the team, how good can we communicate and how fast can we take the classroom to the field, and every day is getting better.”

Long and Brooks, acquired from Seattle, are expected to start together as inside linebackers.

“Fast and physical,” Long said of the tandem. “He hits hard, just like me. I think we play well off each other. We haven’t been out there yet with pads in 11-on-11, but as far as our play style, he’s calm and instinctive — some similarities to me.”

Long and the rest of the defense are learning another new defense after moving on from coordinator Vic Fangio to Anthony Weaver.

“Players are gravitating toward him,” Long said. “It’s not that difficult to grasp it. A lot of the stuff throughout the league is the same, just different terminology. Once you get the base of this defense down, it all kind of overlaps.”

Long added Weaver is relatable as a former player.