Former Tennessee Vols RB Jaylen Wright gets instant motivation for his rookie season from ESPN

Shortly after the Miami Dolphins selected running back Jaylen Wright in the third round of the 2024 NFL Draft, the former Tennessee Vols standout essentially told reporters that the teams that passed on him are going to regret their decision. 

"I've got a lot of fire built up in me," said Wright. "Just from this whole process. I'm just ready to get out there and prove my point -- make these people that passed on me, make them feel me. I'm just ready to bring that aggression to the field and make a lot of plays. Make a lot of big plays." 

Wright clearly plays with a chip on his shoulder -- which doesn't come as a surprise if you saw how physical he was with the ball in his hands at Tennessee. 

Playing with a chip certainly gives NFL players an edge. And it seems that Wright is going to use getting passed on in the draft as motivation for his rookie season. 

On Tuesday, ESPN gave Wright some additional motivation via some rookie projections they published. 

ESPN projected the top five rookie performers in each statistical category. And at the running back position, they didn't include Wright in their top five. 

Here are their predictions for rookie rushing yards/rushing touchdown leaders. 

1. Jonathon Brooks, RB, Carolina Panthers: 877 yards, 6 TDs
2. Jayden Daniels, QB, Washington Commanders: 577 yards, 5 TDs
3. Trey Benson, RB, Arizona Cardinals: 507 yards, 3 TDs
4. Blake Corum, RB, Los Angeles Rams: 471 yards, 3 TDs
5. Ray Davis, RB, Buffalo Bills: 356 yards, 2 TDs

ESPN seriously doesn't think that Wright can top 356 yards and two rushing touchdowns while playing in Mike McDaniel's system in Miami?

The only way this prediction makes any sense is if ESPN is assuming that Wright won't get much playing time behind Raheem Mostert and De'Von Achane. If that's the case, maybe that's fair. But it's hard to imagine that the Dolphins traded up for Wright just to bury him on the depth chart and not give him a fair amount of carries.

The idea for the Dolphins, presumably, is to insert Wright into the rotation so all three running backs can stay healthy and fresh for the duration of the season. Now, if that ends up being the case, Wright should easily cruise by several of the names on ESPN's list. 

Either way, Wright should (and likely will) use the slight from ESPN as motivation to have a massive rookie season this fall.