With blocking an issue, Birds trade for Jay Ajayi
The Eagles swung a trade Tuesday, just not for an offensive tackle or a linebacker as expected.
This deal only adds drama to what has been a season without controversy.
The Eagles shipped a fourthround pick in the 2018 draft to the Dolphins for Pro Bowl running back Jay Ajayi, who rushed for 1,272 yards last year. Ajayi’s rugged style and shiftiness caught the attention of Eagles scouts during their training camp practices with the Dolphins. It was love at first sight for the 6-foot, 221-pound running back.
Ultimately, the Eagles couldn’t stop watching Ajayi record three 200-yard rushing games in 2016. The only other backs to do that are Tiki Barber, Earl Campbell and O.J. Simpson.
“We said that’s our kind of guy,” football operations chief Howie Roseman recalled Tuesday. “He’s got the mentality we’re looking for; he brings that kind of presence and he plays the kind of way we want to play.”
Looking at Ajayi’s credentials, it will be intersting to see him fit in. All of the running backs, from leading rusher LeGarrette Blount to backups Wendell Smallwood, Kenjon Barner and Corey Clement are going to have to do a hard reset. They’re the ones who helped the Eagles win seven of their first eight games.
“This was an opportunity that came to us that we thought was a good player who could add to our team, a young player who’s under contract for the next couple of years,” Roseman said. “At the same time, everyone has seen the way LeGarrette’s run. Wendell’s had really good games for us, Corey. We brought Kenjon back as well. It just adds to the group. All that stuff, playing time will get sorted out by the coaches. But LeGarrette continues to be our starter.”
Ajayi was fourth in the NFL in rushing last year. His 1,272yard total was the third-most in Dolphins’ history. And the Dolphins didn’t want to keep him around? Then again, the Dolphins thought Byron Maxwell, whom the Eagles previously shipped to Miami, would shore up their secondary. Maxwell was released recently.
The onus is on coach Doug Pederson and his staff to make the addition of Ajayi work. By the way, how do you keep five running backs happy, including a 1,300-yard rusher who made the Pro Bowl?
“Keep winning,” offensive coordinator Frank Reich said. “Winning has a way of keeping everybody happy.”
Ajayi is a 2015 fifth-round pick out of Boise State. He’s started 19 of 31 NFL games and has 447 carries for 1,924 yards, a 4.3 yards-per-carry average and 9 TDs. He also has 48 receptions for 308 yards.
This season Ajayi has 138 rushes for 465 yards (3.4 average) and no touchdowns. He also has 14 catches for 67 yards and a reputation for being fussy. Roseman is unconcerned about reports Ajayi complains about the lack of carries.
“We weren’t going to bring anyone here that would disrupt team chemistry,” Roseman said. “And we feel very confident and comfortable about it.”
While there have been concerns about the health of Ajayi’s knees, the Eagles obviously would be foolish bringing on an injury risk at the expense of another draft pick. They’re without second and third-round picks in the coming draft.
“We do physicals on players,” Roseman said. “I’m not concerned about any reports other than the ones given to us.”
The fourth-rounder the Eagles used on Ajayi is the one they got in the deal with the Vikings for Sam Bradford. The Eagles also got defensive end Derek Barnett, the first-round pick out of Tennessee, in that trade.
Blount leads the Eagles with 100 rushes for 467 yards and two touchdowns. He almost certainly will lose touches with Ajayi on board. Smallwood has been in and out of the lineup with injuries. He’s third on the team in rushing, trailing quarterback Carson Wentz. Reich’s message to Blount is, “keep doing what you’re doing.
“You’re a big reason we’re 7-1,” Reich said. “You’re a big reason we made the strides we did in the running game. Your tenaciousness running the football, your attitude that you brought, the toughness you brought, the unselfishness you’ve brought is part of our identity. That’s what we hope will continue.”
Ajayi ran 4.57 in the 40yard dash, lifted off for a 39inch vertical leap and recorded a 10-foot standing long jump at the scouting combine. Ourlad’s Scouting services was impressed enough with Ajayi to write a solid scouting report before the 2015 draft,
To wit:
“Hard to tackle one-on-one. He is a one-cut runner who does not lose speed or momentum upon his cut. Reads his blocks well, trusts what he sees and consistently works upfield. His vision allows him to set up defenders on the second level. He can break away even without elite speed because of his vision and being able to get defenders off balance. His route running is good and he catches the ball well. His eyes turn upfield immediately upon making a catch. A willing blocker with a good grasp of the blocking schemes.”
The Eagles’ run game has stalled the past few weeks, in part due to the loss of perennial Pro Bowl tackle Jason Peters to a season-ending knee injury. The Eagles kicked the tires on left tackle Joe Staley, who was poked in the eye Sunday by Fletcher Cox. They reportedly had interest in left tackle Anthony Castonzo of the Colts. And they stood pat.
“I think we are comfortable with our group, too,” Roseman said. “It’s not so easy, you know, just to go and get good players in the NFL. It’s not like there’s a tree that you just pick tackles off of and you say, ‘Let’s just grab that guy.’ We went into this with our roster knowing we would have some injuries.”
The Eagles also stayed put at linebacker, where they formally put Jordan Hicks and his torn Achilles’ tendon on injured reserve Tuesday.