Player
Ollie Gordon II
RB · Dolphins
An identical carry count with a 0.9 YPC gap directly answers whether Gordon is a volume or efficiency back — he was the short-yardage specialist, not an every-down option.
Same 70 carries as Jaylen Wright in 2025 — but 89 fewer yards and 0.9 fewer yards per carry.
TrendMIA RB carry-for-carry comparison — 2025
| Back | Car | Yds | YPC | Rush TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gordon II | 70 | 199 | 2.8 | 3 |
| Wright | 70 | 288 | 4.1 | 2 |
Ollie Gordon II and Jaylen Wright each carried the ball exactly 70 times in 2025 — the same workload, but sharply different results. Gordon averaged 2.8 YPC vs Wright's 4.1 YPC, a gap of nearly a yard per touch.
Gordon's usage was heavily concentrated in short-yardage and goal-line situations. His 3 rushing TDs actually matched Wright's haul despite the efficiency gap, suggesting Miami was deliberate about funneling red-zone work to Gordon.
Why it matters. An identical carry count with a 0.9 YPC gap directly answers whether Gordon is a volume or efficiency back — he was the short-yardage specialist, not an every-down option.
Only 1 game with 10+ carries — but he scored a TD in 4 of his 7 games with 5+ touches.
SplitWorkload distribution — 2025
| Carry bucket | Games |
|---|---|
| 10+ carries | 1 |
| 5-9 carries | 6 |
| 1-4 carries | 9 |
| 0 carries | 1 |
The Dolphins gave Gordon a real workload only once all year — 10 carries vs Atlanta in Week 8 (46 yds, 1 receiving TD). The rest of the season was scattered between 5-9 carries (6 games) and single-digit cameos (9 games).
The role pattern: goal-line and short-yardage. He scored a TD in 4 of his 7 games with 5+ touches (Wk 3 vs BUF: 9 carries, rush TD; Wk 8 vs ATL: 10 carries, rec TD; Wk 11 vs WAS: 9 carries, rush TD; Wk 14 vs NYJ: 5 carries, rush TD).
Why it matters. A 4-of-7 TD rate in meaningful-touch games shows he was Miami's situational red-zone finisher despite never seeing lead-back volume.
Best rookie game: Week 8 at Atlanta — 10 carries for 46 yds, plus 1 reception for 20 yds and a receiving TD.
MilestoneIn Week 8 at Atlanta, Gordon got his only 10+ carry game of the season: 10 attempts for 46 rushing yards, plus 1 reception for 20 yards and a receiving touchdown. PPR fantasy line: 13.6 points.
It was his lone game touching meaningful 3-down territory. Every other game he was either capped at sub-10 touches or used purely in pass-blocking and short-yardage roles.
Why it matters. This was the only game where the Dolphins let Gordon play as a true 3-down back — the stat line shows what the ceiling looks like if the role ever expands.
3 negative-yard games — all in games where he had 3 carries or fewer.
AnomalyNegative rushing-yard games (2025)
| Wk | Opp | Car | RYds |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | CAR | 3 | -2 |
| 10 | BUF | 1 | -3 |
| 16 | CIN | 1 | -1 |
Three of Gordon's 17 games ended with negative rushing yards. That's a function of his role — when he gets 1-3 carries, they tend to be high-leverage short-yardage or goal-line attempts where a loss is more likely.
The 2.8 YPC career rookie average is going to need a real Year-2 workload to validate — without a true volume sample, his per-carry rate is heavily skewed by these single-touch series.
Why it matters. All three negative-yard games came in low-volume appearances, confirming the 2.8 YPC is distorted by situational usage, not a true reflection of his open-field ability.
Gordon scored as many rushing TDs in the red zone as De'Von Achane — despite getting 40% fewer red-zone carries.
ComparisonMIA red zone rushing — 2025 (inside 20)
| Back | RZ Carries | RZ Rush TDs | TD Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Achane | 32 | 3 | 9.4% |
| Gordon II | 19 | 3 | 15.8% |
De'Von Achane received 32 red zone carries in 2025 to Gordon's 19 — yet both scored exactly 3 rushing TDs. Gordon's red zone TD rate of 15.8% was nearly double Achane's 9.4%.
For dynasty and fantasy purposes, this is the clearest signal in Gordon's rookie year: he's a high-efficiency red zone finisher. If Miami shifts goal-line work his way or Achane misses time, Gordon's TD ceiling is much higher than his raw carry share suggests.
Why it matters. Matching Achane's TD total at 60% of the red-zone opportunities establishes Gordon as the more efficient short-yardage back in Miami's 2025 rotation.
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