Miami Dolphins have great one-two punch with Jay Ajayi and Kenyan Drake
An area of concern heading into the NFL Draft, the Miami Dolphins have filled their need and given themselves a great one-two punch that has the potential to be great in the NFL for many years to come with young up-and-coming running backs Jay Ajayi and Kenyan Drake.
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Jay Ajayi — a second year running back drafted by the Dolphins — looks almost certain to get the majority of the reps in the backfield this season. The hard running back was the third down option last season with Lamar Miller leading the charge.
With Miller now having left the team to sign with the Houston Texans, Jay Ajayi looks almost certain to take over where his predecessor left off. Having a good combination of speed and strength, Ajayi looks set to take over the starting role.
However, given Ajayi’s lack of NFL experience given he was used almost exclusively on third down last season, the Dolphins needed to add another running back to the mix. Though Miami struck out during free agency, they were able to find a suitable player in Alabama running back Kenyan Drake.
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Playing behind defending Heisman Trophy winner Derrick Henry for the Crimson Tide, Kenyan Drake was known as the “homerun hitter” at Alabama. His pure speed and elusiveness when handling the ball makes him a great third down running back while also moonlighting as the team’s potential kick returner with fellow rookie Jakeem Grant.
Using two young players to anchor the running back position may be considered risky by some, but this could work out for the best. If the Miami Dolphins manage to help both players develop, the team could have one of the best running back tandems in the NFL soon.
Ajayi plowing the road through the interior of the line, smashing his way to gain yards. Drake scraping around the outside, burning the opponents down the field with his pure speed. Look how well it worked out for the Tennessee Titans years ago with Lendale White and Chris Johnson.
While such a scheme may not have the same amount of success as it did with CJ2K in the backfield, it could give the Dolphins one of the best running games in the NFL.
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