When the Miami Dolphins selected Jaylen Wright in the fourth round of the 2024 NFL draft, it seemed they were picking Raheem Mostert’s replacement.
Mostert turned 32 last month, which makes him one of the NFL’s oldest active running backs. And at 5’11, 210 pounds with 4.38 speed, Wright is awfully similar to Mostert, a 5’10, 205-pound former track star.
But Mostert says he isn’t pressed by the Dolphins’ decision to take his successor.
“My reaction at the time, I was just like, ‘yeah, whatever, it is what it is,’” Mostert told reporters Tuesday. “It’s the same typical thing, the draft drama pretty much all the time regardless of the position. But no, I’m honestly excited to have Jaylen come in. … . Just excited to have him here and try to coach him up, try to help him out within this offense and let’s see what we can do.
“The more the merrier. That’s what I would say. Especially in this offense. We can utilize a lot of different attributes and speed is definitely an attribute that we like to maximize to the most of our abilities. So to be able to have another guy come into the mix and bring his attributes and his contributions into the offense and his speed is definitely going to be very beneficial on our part.”
Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel hopes so too. Shortly after the team picked Wright, he told reporters that he sees the crowded backfield creating a “supreme urgency to do right with the ball.”
Mostert led the Dolphins with 234 touches during the 2023 season, over 100 more than any other player on the team. De’Von Achane, a third-round pick in the 2023 NFL draft, finished with 130 touches.
With another mouth to feed, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Mostert’s touches decrease in 2024. But the veteran also said he isn’t concerned about age catching up to him.
“At age 30 and above, [running backs] typically start to have that decline,” Mostert said. “Well, I didn’t have any wear and tear early on in my career, so it’s a little bit easier for me to go ahead and discredit that narrative altogether. Just continue to just do what I do at the highest level and help this team out and try to bring home a championship.”
Mostert, a former undrafted free agent who bounced around several rosters early in his career, didn’t make his first NFL start until 2020 when he was 28. He had 320 career touches when he signed with the Dolphins in 2022 and had 446 touches in his first two years in Miami.
