The Miami Dolphins traded running back Jay Ajayi last month and its given Damien Williams and Kenyan Drake an opportunity to get more chances in the offense running and receiving. I don’t believe Williams is going to be the feature back beyond this year. He is a fine versatile player who can run and catch the ball out of the back field and play good on special teams, but he isn’t a game changing player.
Drake on the other hand is a player that can make a game changing play with his speed returning kicks and running and catching the ball out of the back field. He reminds me of Lamar Miller when he was with the Dolphins before leaving as a free agent. Miller when he got the ball was always good for the big play at some point during the game. The problem was former coach Joe Philbin never used him on a consistent basis because he was concerned Miller would get hurt due to him not being very big would cause him to get hurt if he got a heavy workload. That has been the knock on Drake since he was drafted and he did have his share of injuries at Alabama, but he made a big play when it mattered most, such as a 100 yard kickoff return in the national championship game against Clemson to help Bama win the national championship. Last year he had a 96 yard kickoff return in a game against the New York Jets that was the game winning touchdown. He had other games in which he made big plays to help the Dolphins win games. In each of the last 2 games he’s had runs of 42 yards and a 66 yard touchdown the other night against the Carolina Panthers. It got me thinking why don’t we give him the ball? He is always good for that one or two big plays you need in a game to win.
With running backs its either you give him the ball too much or too little. When Ricky Williams was with the Dolphins his first 2 seasons people felt he was getting too many carries and his body would break down. However the Dolphins shouldn’t be wasting a player with Drake’s game changing speed. If you don’t involve him enough when he hits free agency he could leave for another team like Miller did and be used more. The Dolphins have had their fair share of players who have come and gone like Miller whose talents were under utilized. I get the concern of Drake’s durability, but you have to give him the opportunity to see what he can do. I’m not saying giving him the ball 25 times a game, but at least 15 to 20 times a game to give him a chance to show case his talents. The NFL is about play makers and Drake is a play maker let’s see what he can do in a game more
