Jay Ajayi will be an extremely important player for the Miami Dolphins
With Ryan Tannehill’s full 2017 status still unknown, the Miami Dolphins could be facing some serious offensive issues next season. However, while Tannehill is still likely to be the week one starter, the team will need to find a way to reliably keep the pressure off him and keep players from racking up the quarterback hits when they face the Dolphins.
One way that the team could do this is create a successful rushing attack. Having a breakout campaign in 2016, Jay Ajayi was one of the NFL’s best out of nowhere stories in recent memory. After all, Ajayi wasn’t even the week one starter when the Dolphins entered the 2016 season, losing the starting battle to offseason signing Arian Foster.
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Sulking over this apparent loss to the veteran Foster, Ajayi was kept home for the team’s Week 1 game at Seattle last season. At this point, it looked like a certainty that Ajayi would be on his way out of Miami sooner rather than later. However, following this punishment, Ajayi did something very few players can do. He rebounded, got his head on straight, and gave 110% every time he was on the field.
With Foster suffering some injury problems in the early weeks of the season, Ajayi finally got his chance to start a game during the Week 5 contest against Tennessee. Though that first start was unimpressive state wise, Ajayi was not kept down by his slow start. Rebounding the following week, Ajayi rushed for 204 yards against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The next week, Ajayi again rushed for over 200 yards against what was supposed to be an extremely tough Buffalo Bills defense. While his up and down performances continued for the rest of the season — Ajayi only topped 100 yards two more times including his Week 16 206 yard performance at Buffalo — he became a household name among fans and experts alike.
Looking to continue in his development and production this season, the Miami Dolphins will need Jay Ajayi to be a major rushing force in 2017. Likely to be assisted more this season by both Damien Williams and Kenyan Drake, Ajayi should be able to crack the 100-yard mark much more often due to the lower snap count Miami should provide.
With the additional help, I fully expect Jay Ajayi to improve next season. If his goal is indeed to be the Miami Dolphins greatest running back of all time, he is on the right track. If he can add some consistency to his game, look out for Ajayi to be one of the NFL’s best running backs in the near future.
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