Fast Facts: Jaylen Wright

When General Manager Chris Grier and Head Coach Mike McDaniel identify a fit for the roster, they are not shy about aggressively pursuing that player. When Tennessee running back Jaylen Wright was on the board with the 120^th pick, the Dolphins’ brass dipped into the 2025 stockpile of picks in exchange for Wright, who will swap volunteer orange for the aqua and orange of Florida’s oldest professional football team.

Here are the fast facts on the powerful, speedy, shifty back who averaged 7.4 yards per carry during his last college season:

Explosive and efficient are two of the most important traits for a running back. Jaylen Wright just celebrated his 21^st birthday and has less than 400 college touches on his odometer (398 total). That’s all it took for him to post video game-like statistics in the Volunteers backfield.

Wright rushed for 1,013 yards on 136 carries in 2023 – good for 7.4 yards per rush. He added 22 receptions for 141 yards with four total touchdowns. The advanced metrics tell the story of how Wright was able to do so much with such a limited workload.

Per Pro Football Focus, Wright averaged 4.35 yards per carry after initial contact. He slipped 43 tackles and totaled 592 yards after evading the first defender. That, at 210 pounds isn’t a big surprise, but where he really garners attention is the 19 rushes of 15-plus yards. Only 15 backs in the country had more explosive plays in the run game, and none of them did it with less than 150 rushing attempts like Wright.

When the Dolphins acquire a player on offense, it’s a safe bet that the player can run. Wright showed that on the first play of the game against the No. 1 ranked Georgia Bulldogs when he outran two draft picks (cornerback Kamari Lassiter, 42^nd overall and safety Javon Bullard, 58^th overall) to the end zone for a 75-yard touchdown.