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RB Kenyan Drake, LV (2 Viewers)

Yeah I don't always agree with Matt but I respect his work and the time he puts into his evaluations. He has a method of evaluation that is more detailed and consistent through the use of ratings in categories that is something I would like to emulate myself but I haven't developed to that level of detail yet. 

Thanks for the link. Interesting stuff. I did know Matt wasn't very high on Drake based on his comments around the time Drake was drafted on the podcast but this gives more of his reasoning.

Alabama is an excellent blocking team. Their WR RIddick is a great blocker. Time after time he is making key blocks for their RBs on the edge. I am interested in that guy when he comes out.

 
Reading these posts about Drake invoked memories of when the Steelers signed free agent rookie "Fast" Willie Parker from UNC back circa 2004.  At that time he was deemed a very fast running back with poor vision to run between the tackles. I have not seen Drake play, but thought I would float the FWP musings.

 
pghrob said:
Reading these posts about Drake invoked memories of when the Steelers signed free agent rookie "Fast" Willie Parker from UNC back circa 2004.  At that time he was deemed a very fast running back with poor vision to run between the tackles. I have not seen Drake play, but thought I would float the FWP musings.
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or when they drafted Dri Archer?

 
SayWhat? said:
The 5 foot 8, buck seventy Dri Archer? He's comparable to drafting Drake in what regard?
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The point is listing an anecdotal example of a successful player that fits the mold isn't really saying much. Drake is much taller than Archer but also very thin.

 
Dr. Octopus said:
The point is listing an anecdotal example of a successful player that fits the mold isn't really saying much. Drake is much taller than Archer but also very thin.
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I guess I don't think 6'1" 210 is all that thin, and definitely not in the realm of 5'8" 170.  Especially when talking about whether a RB can handle a workload as a feature back.  Carry on.

 
SayWhat? said:
I guess I don't think 6'1" 210 is all that thin, and definitely not in the realm of 5'8" 170.  Especially when talking about whether a RB can handle a workload as a feature back.  Carry on.
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Well I'm not necessarily even comparing Archer to Drake (just like some one shouldn't comparer Drake to Willie Parker) but Drake is listed at 207 at 6'1" look at the other RBs in the league who are over 6' tall. They are all in the 225 plus range. He is thin for a RB at his height - that's not to say he can't be successful.

 
Comps are always imperfect, but I would compare Drake to a poor man's Chris Johnson.  I actually passed on Johnson partly because I saw him as more of a speedster who couldn't run between tackles in NFL.  Turned out I was wrong.  But, that being said, Johnson is faster (4.24 combine 40 vs. 4.45; their vertical leap and broad jump are almost identical) and he had was a much more productive college player, amassing 6,000 all purpose yards.  Now, at the time I worried that he did it in Conference USA and not the Big10 or SEC or comparable top league.  

Johnson also runs sort of upright and does rely on his speed.  At 5'1'' he is a bit shorter but their body mass is similar.  I would say that Johnson is the ceiling and I don't expect Drake to come close to that ceiling but it is possible.

 
Dr. Octopus said:
Well I'm not necessarily even comparing Archer to Drake (just like some one shouldn't comparer Drake to Willie Parker) but Drake is listed at 207 at 6'1" look at the other RBs in the league who are over 6' tall. They are all in the 225 plus range. He is thin for a RB at his height - that's not to say he can't be successful.
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FWIW:

Adrian Peterson - 6'1.5" 214 (27.8 BMI)

Kenyan Drake - 6'0.625" 210 (28.0 BMI)

His height/weight aren't ideal, but they're not a deal-breaker either. However, listed dimensions don't always convey how the player functions on the field and I would say Drake is a lot easier to knock off his feet than Peterson. Not as elusive or powerful. 

 
Oh noes!!!!!!!

The fallible BMI rears it ugly head again.

And let's make it really fun by throwing in a Peterson comparison.

 
Broken and dislocated ankle his junior season. In his senior year had a cracked rib, sprained ankle, concussion, and a broken arm.

 
As for returns, it would be ideal of Grant and/or Drake seize both punt and kickoff jobs, to lessen the load on Landry.

“We are going to have multiple guys back there,” Rizzi said. “I don’t think the deep guy is always going to get the ball.”

Grant averaged 24.9 yards and scored four touchdowns on 87 career kickoff returns. Drake averaged 26.6 yards on 19 kickoff returns --- all last season – with one touchdown coming on a 95-yarder against Clemson in the national championship game.

Keep in mind that Landry’s 27.1 career average on 47 kickoff returns was better than Grant’s or Drake’s college averages. Rizzi said Landry will keep the job if he’s the best option.

Grant has never returned a punt in a college game, and Drake returned only one (for 19 yards, in 2013). But Rizzi said Grant and Drake are ahead of where he thought they would be as punt returners. LINK

 
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He's not going to wind up on my teams. 

No one is really in love with his game,  even people making the case for him point to opportunity more than anything. 

When opportunity is your #1 fantasy asset,  you need to be nervous.  From a dynasty perspective,  I don't want to invest a good pick in a guy like that.  He winds up being a player someone takes late 1, early 2nd, because of opportunity.  But what can also happen,  easily,  is that both Ajayi and Drake wind up backing up whoever gets acquired NEXT year.  Or they pick up Arian Foster. Or some UDFA takes the job. 

I also don't have a lot of faith in Miami front office.  I took Washington from Oakland over Drake,  because I trust Reggie more.  I doubt he takes over from Murray this year,  but I will be surprised if Murray gets big money from Oakland. 

Also,  from a style standpoint, I like Washington's style more for the NFL. Low to the ground,  quicker steps,  runs inside better.  If you can't run inside,  I'm not very interested. 

I liked Ajayi a lot coming out,  but I don't scout college much.  I think Ajayi at the end of this year either has the job to himself,  or is worthless in fantasy. 

 
This is kind of off topic but DeAnde Washington is a much better football player than Drake. That choice to me is a no brainer. I honestly don't know what Miami was thinking with that pick. Carroo would have been a much better pick than Drake as well and they wouldn't of had to trade up to pick him then. It does seem like Gase had some sway with all the focus on the offensive side of the ball, when I think they had more needs on defense.

If I was a RB I would rather be competing with Murray than Ajayi for snaps. The only thing Drake has on Washington is draft position. Most people are like why the face about this pick.

 
Dolphins sign Kenyan Drake, complete draft class

Drake was forced to sit out Thursday’s minicamp practice after sustaining an injury on Wednesday. It appears to have been a hamstring issue for Drake, but he is expected to be ready fro training camp at the end of July.
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Omar Kelly ✔@OmarKelly

Dolphins rookie tailback Kenyan Drake is not practicing. He has a compression sleeve on his right leg due to hamstring strain.

 
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Dolphins third-round RB Kenyan Drake confirms his hamstring will be healed long before training camp.
"I'm feeling great," Drake said Monday. Drake also brushed aside questions about his durability. "You’re going to get hurt as a football player," Drake said. "It's about how fast you recover and get back on the field. It's not about how many times you get injured. It's about are you able to play in critical moments of the season when the team needs you to." Provided he can stay healthy, Drake should have a robust role behind Jay Ajayi.

 
 
Source: Miami Herald 
Jun 23 - 2:33 PM
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According to the Miami Herald, third-round pick Kenyan Drake failed to "suggest he was ready to be a reliable No. 2 back" in the Dolphins' offseason program.
This was before Drake suffered a hamstring injury, his eighth hamstring injury since Drake arrived at Alabama. Following the Arian Foster signing, Drake's value takes the most obvious hit. He is not draft worthy in 12-team leagues.

 
 
Source: Miami Herald 
Jul 18 - 5:21 PM
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Despite returning to practice, Dolphins RB Kenyan Drake (hamstring) will sit out this week's regular season dress rehearsal.
Drake "hopes" to see some action in the finale, and insists he'll be ready for Week 1. The oft-injured rookie has fallen behind Isaiah Pead on the depth chart. That's quite an inglorious way to begin an NFL career. Drake is off the re-draft radar.

 
 
Source: Adam Beasley on Twitter 
Aug 23 - 2:06 PM
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Christensen Touches On Titans Defense

Lots of questions about the RB situation in this press conference. Gase is trying to keep this decision a secret, as far as who the starter will be. So the OC is trying to not let that information be known. He just says Gase has an idea of who that guy will be.

As far as the RBBC he says they are waiting for a RB to seize the job. Why that hasn't happened is a variety of different things, and not the same thing, but something new each time as to what makes them look at someone else. He says they were hoping Foster could be that guy, but then he got injured. He doesn't go into detail about what all of the other things are.

He says that Drake needs to work on his conditioning or stamina. He back pedals a bunch on this statement, not wanting to give the impression that Drake is out of shape. He isn't out of shape, just that it is hard for him to play special teams, then come in on 1st down and run the ball, then be ready to block on 3rd down.

When asked if Drake can be a featured RB or just a specialist, he says that yes he thinks Drake can, but that he isn't there yet. He then goes on to say that there are a lot of talented players in the league, but there are only a few pros.

For the most part this seems very positive as far as Drake is concerned. These were directed questions however so I wouldn't assume that this means Drake is their guy. They do think that Drake could be their guy though, he just isn't there yet.

 
The Dolphins believe Kenyan Drake could be an every-down back were Jay Ajayi to miss regular season time.

Echoing comments coach Adam Gase made earlier this offseason, RBs coach Danny Barrett lathered on praise. "(He's) more reliable, more dependable, being where he’s supposed to be — especially in our passing game," Barrett said. "He has done a great job of taking care of the little things, the detailed things we talked about." This is certainly not the back Drake was billed as last training camp, or coming out of Alabama. It's still possible a committee would emerge were Ajayi to miss time, but it's safe to assume Drake would be the chairman.

Source: Miami Herald

Aug 3 - 3:58 PM
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The Dolphins believe Kenyan Drake could be an every-down back were Jay Ajayi to miss regular season time.

Echoing comments coach Adam Gase made earlier this offseason, RBs coach Danny Barrett lathered on praise. "(He's) more reliable, more dependable, being where he’s supposed to be — especially in our passing game," Barrett said. "He has done a great job of taking care of the little things, the detailed things we talked about." This is certainly not the back Drake was billed as last training camp, or coming out of Alabama. It's still possible a committee would emerge were Ajayi to miss time, but it's safe to assume Drake would be the chairman. Aug 3 - 3:58 PM LINK
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Dolphins RB Kenyan Drake will get a lot of opportunities vs. Falcons

With Ajayi not practicing, Drake has gotten time with the Dolphins first-team offense. Drake has demonstrated his catching ability out of the backfield as well as his solid rushing skills.

Dolphins head coach Adam Gase believes Drake has gotten better because of the more opportunities he has received during training camp.

“The more reps he can get, the better,” Gase said. “Last year, we were kind of in and out in the spring. We had so much work to do with Jay (Ajayi) and then Arian (Foster) was here and Damien (Williams), and he kind of got lost in the shuffle a little bit. So being able to get him as many reps as we can is valuable for us and just getting him comfortable and understanding how everything works with the run game, where he fits, where he’s supposed to go. The reps for him are very, very important.”

As a rookie, Drake only rushed the ball 33 times for 179 yards and one touchdown. Dolphins offensive coordinator Clyde Christensen believes there’s a lot more in store for Drake in 2017.

“I think Kenyan continues to push forward and get better,” Christensen said. “He has a chance to be a really, really good back in this league. He’s explosive.”
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SaintsInDome2006 said:
Seems important.
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Obviously the game situation was much different when Drake got in vs. the Ravens but I thought he looked much better than Ajayi. Ran hard and showed a lot more explosiveness. Be interesting to see what he does with an expanded role. Nothing scary about this week's matchup vs. Oakland. 

 
packer_junkie said:
I do know Gase is a 1 RB kind of guy-- was with Foster even on a two bum legs last year
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Yeah going back to the beginning of last year Gase said that he prefers to have a RB play a drive and finish that drive.

He has for the most part stuck with that, except in the first four games of last season where he would pull Ajayi before a drive was complete a few times. Then this year he hasn't stuck with that.

Now this year he has gone away from that in how he was using Ajayi and Williams. Giving Williams a more defined passing role, which to be honest doesn't make sense, I think it is a bad thing to do tactically, because it gives the defense a clue about the play calling, run or pass. It also isn't the way he prefers to use his RB as he stated last year.

To be honest I don't know why he was doing that, when it is something he doesn't want to do. The reasoning given was that they wanted to limit Ajayis playing time somewhere, and so decided to spell him on passing downs, giving Williams that role.

The whole thing hasn't made sense to me. Gase says one thing, but does another. All we can really trust is what he does.

My thought is that Gase will have Drake and Williams split series. But if they do not trust Drake in pass protection (nothing indicates that they do based on how the RB have been used so far) then Williams may maintain this obvious passing situation role over Drake. Meaning Drake is more the 1st and 2nd down RB. Williams the 3rd down RB.

eta - I think Gase has painted himself in a corner with the trade and so now he is back to running back by competition in the games over the next two weeks to see if Drake or Williams can establish themselves as the better option over the other. Drake has the opportunity to become their main RB now. Depends on how well he plays with the opportunities on series he is given.

Ajayi won the running back by competition last year, but based on what has happened, I don't think he was ever really happy about that. I think his dislike of Ajayi is an other than football related decision, as Jay clearly won it, but Gase wouldn't give him the full role anyways, even though that is how they won a lot of games last year. He is letting personal things get in the way of what should be a purely football based decision.

 
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Gase declined to say which of those young backs — Drake, Damien Williams or to a lesser extent Senorise Perry — would start on Sunday against Oakland or what their roles would be.

But Gase expressed faith in all three, even though Williams has a 2.7 rushing average this season (12 for 32) and Drake 2.5 (10 for 25). Williams has played just 83 offensive snaps this season, Drake 46.

“Damien has impressed me from the get-go,” Gase said. “I was told when I got here that when the lights come on Sunday, he’s one of those guys you want with you. He has done nothing but make plays for us.

“Kenyan, we really feel fits the mold we’re looking for in that backfield. With those two guys, I like the fact that they’re able to catch the ball, run good routes, run the ball both inside and outside. They’re physical. We like their skill sets.”

Williams, who caught 23 passes for 249 yards last season but just eight for 50 this season, has just a 3.3 rushing average on 99 career carries.

Drake flashed as a rookie last season, averaging 5.4 yards on 33 carries. He insisted Wednesday that “I’m not going to look at it as any big opportunity.” He said Gase told him nothing about his role beyond to “play my best football.”
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http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/nfl/miami-dolphins/article182150556.html#storylink=cpy

 
Gandalf said:
I spent $7 on Drake last night
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I spent $6. I am an Ajayi owner who expects not to be using him this week (against Denver) or in week 10 when Philly is on bye. Basically Ajayi ends up with 3 bye weeks (weeks 1, 9 and 10).

 
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Biabreakable said:
Yeah going back to the beginning of last year Gase said that he prefers to have a RB play a drive and finish that drive.

He has for the most part stuck with that, except in the first four games of last season where he would pull Ajayi before a drive was complete a few times. Then this year he hasn't stuck with that.

Now this year he has gone away from that in how he was using Ajayi and Williams. Giving Williams a more defined passing role, which to be honest doesn't make sense, I think it is a bad thing to do tactically, because it gives the defense a clue about the play calling, run or pass. It also isn't the way he prefers to use his RB as he stated last year.

To be honest I don't know why he was doing that, when it is something he doesn't want to do. The reasoning given was that they wanted to limit Ajayis playing time somewhere, and so decided to spell him on passing downs, giving Williams that role.

The whole thing hasn't made sense to me. Gase says one thing, but does another. All we can really trust is what he does.

My thought is that Gase will have Drake and Williams split series. But if they do not trust Drake in pass protection (nothing indicates that they do based on how the RB have been used so far) then Williams may maintain this obvious passing situation role over Drake. Meaning Drake is more the 1st and 2nd down RB. Williams the 3rd down RB.

eta - I think Gase has painted himself in a corner with the trade and so now he is back to running back by competition in the games over the next two weeks to see if Drake or Williams can establish themselves as the better option over the other. Drake has the opportunity to become their main RB now. Depends on how well he plays with the opportunities on series he is given.

Ajayi won the running back by competition last year, but based on what has happened, I don't think he was ever really happy about that. I think his dislike of Ajayi is an other than football related decision, as Jay clearly won it, but Gase wouldn't give him the full role anyways, even though that is how they won a lot of games last year. He is letting personal things get in the way of what should be a purely football based decision.
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It’s all coming out down here. Ajayi was a locker room cancer and an insubordinate with Gase. When you defy the head coach.....you are done. HE is not some superstar future HOF RB. He is JAG. Had a great break out season last year.......but thus far fizzled in 2017. 

Gase not happy Ajayi won the RB competition? Come on man that is ridiculous. He is paid to coach and win games and put his best lineup out there along with guys who have a team first attitude. It is coming out down here that Ajayi was not a team first guy.I t was all about him. 

Gase does not take any crap. Ajayi also was not very impressive this season (OL is not great either but Ajayi also has not been the same back and has blown passing protection, dropped balls, ran bad routes on passing downs, simply not the same back he was last season). He has been trying to constantly hit HR’s with long runs instead of taking 4-5 yards when it’s there. He drove Gase nuts with that every week.

Drake is going to be given every opportunity to win the #1 RB role and be the bell cow. He has a ton to prove and with this OL it will be tough sledding. But make no mistake. This was a football decision. Because if Ajayi was so valuable to the Dolphins.....he would still be here. He was dumped for a 4th round pick (one round above where they drafted him). Because of a piss poor attitude towards his head coach as well as below average performance.

I liked Ajayi. But he fizzled this season along with the rest of this team thus far. Typical Dolphins fodder. 

 
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Todem your statement agrees with what I am saying for the most part, that its more of a personal issue than an on the field issue.

I disagree with a JAG being capable of three 200 yard rushing games. There is a lot of talent there.

 
Biabreakable said:
Todem your statement agrees with what I am saying for the most part, that its more of a personal issue than an on the field issue.

I disagree with a JAG being capable of three 200 yard rushing games. There is a lot of talent there.
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Hey I liked Ajayi and was really pumped for our team this season......but this year he has looked like JAG. And I know the OL has been atrocious.  But his play has also been a factor too.

His on field performance this season did weigh heavy in the decision too trade him. Gase felt if you are going to be a malcontent and not perform......buh bye.

In my dynasty league I blew some cash on him. Lotto ticket. Let's go Drake!!! Give the Fins a spark!! (fat chance but you never know).

 
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He's unproven and hopefully he can grow with this opportunity and have success.  Found this interesting nugget on his rookie year.

"The trade of Ajayi leaves the Dolphins backfield a little thin. There’s undrafted fourth-year back Damien Williams and his 3.3 yards-per-carry average. Then there’s Drake, a third-round second-year back who showed some promise in his rookie year. He saw limited time behind Ajayi, running the ball just 33 times but turned that into 179 yards for a 5.4 yards-per-carry average along with two touchdowns. He’s only seen 10 carries this year but should see more now that Ajayi is in Philadelphia. Drake has shown flashes, forcing seven missed tackles last year on his 42 touches while also not allowing a sack on his six (yes, it’s a small sample size) pass-block opportunities. It’s what the Dolphins were expecting when they drafted him in the third round a year after drafting Ajayi in the fifth.

Verdict: Buy. The cost is low and it doesn’t hurt to have a lottery ticket, especially one who will be seeing significant action this season. If he misses, you didn’t spend a lot to see what you had. He’s your Jimmy Garoppolo!"

Source:  ProFootballFocus

 
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Hawkeye21 said:
Confidence?  Confidence to give you what?
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Confidence to give me someone to start at my flex spot!  It's either him or a middle of the road WR like Hurns or Cupp and I like guys who are guaranteed touches (like carries) as opposed to targets which are up and down from week to week.

 
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