TB Drake steps up for Miami
His productivity ranks with NFL’s best
DAVIE — The Miami Dolphins have two games to figure out whether Kenyan Drake is the real deal.
Since taking over the starting tailback role, Drake has thrived, becoming the NFL’s fifth most productive tailback per start based on the yardage he produced in his four starts this season.
Drake, who was made a starter after the midseason trade of Jay Ajayi to Philadelphia and Damien Williams’ shoulder injury nearly a month ago, has averaged 123.5 total yards in his four starts this season.
The only tailbacks who have been more productive as starters this season are New England’s Dion Lewis, who is averaging 137.3 yards per game in his six starts, Pittsburgh’s Le’Veon Bell, who accounts for 132 yards per game in his 14 starts, Rams tailback Todd Gurley (129.8) and Dallas’ Ezekiel Elliott (124.1).
In the past three games,
where Drake has been utilized as the featured back because of Williams’ absence, the former Alabama standout produced 312 rushing yards on 54 carries and 134 receiving yards on 15 catches.
That means he’s averaged 148 yards per start. Drake, who averages 4.8 yards per carry, has also scored three of his four touchdowns in those three games.
When told about how Drake’s production level stacks up with the rest of the league, coach Adam Gase responded with, “I’ll take it.”
Even offensive coordinator Clyde Christensen, who has been one of Drake’s biggest critics since Miami selected him in the third round of the 2016 draft, seems to be buying in.
This week Christensen pointed out how pleased he’s been with Drake’s ball security, which was an issue earlier this season when he fumbled twice. Christensen also praised Drake for the pass protection he’s provided the past few games, which was viewed as his weakness by Miami’s coaches.
“It’s progress. He just continues to grow,” said Christensen, who claims the maturity Drake has shown this season is a “night and day” improvement from his rookie season. “I was kind of teasing him: ‘It’s not that painful to kind of be mature,’ and he said, ‘No, it really isn’t.’
“But he hasn’t quite arrived yet,” Christensen warned.
The next two games will help Miami determine whether Drake’s success is an aberration or whether he can consistently produce 100-plus yards of offense, which could affect Miami’s offseason plans.
Christensen wants to know how Drake will perform now that he’s become a “marked man,” and defenses give him extra attention.
“You remember last year, Jay [Ajayi] had the two 200-yard games and then all of a sudden, people are tattooing [him],” Christensen continued. “You get a mark on you and they’re after you. It gets harder and harder to just keep repeating it. This league doesn’t let you just roll on through.”
Despite Drake’s productivity, don’t be surprised to see Miami decrease his workload when Williams is healthy enough to play. Despite practicing all week on a limited basis, he’s listed as doubtful for Sunday’s game at the Kansas City Chiefs because his shoulder isn’t fully healed.
Gase was turned off by his experience with Ajayi earlier this season, and last month he vowed to never again rely solely on one tailback. So expect Williams to at least resume his role as Miami’s third-down back if he’s cleared to play in the Dec. 31 season finale against the Buffalo Bills.
“If you look at the duration of the season, we’re talking about three games, and what if this is Game 12 for him?” Gase said referring to Drake’s heavy workload this month. “That’s why both of those guys are valuable because they both have very similar traits to where they can do everything. If you mix those two guys up and it’s just a little bit of a change in each guy as far as whether it’s their running style, what they like to run, some of the routes that they run . ... It’s fun to call plays for [them] and they’re dangerous for the defense.”