Adam Gase was talking about Kenyan Drake recently. Says he thinks the Dolphins have a guy "who's really looking to bust out." Miami signed Frank Gore and drafted Kalen Ballage, but it also let Damien Williams go. Gore is 35, Ballage a late fourth-round pick. Drake should get the chance to be the main back, and Gase envisions using him in lots of different ways.
A year ago, Drake was one of the league's most explosive runners, at least in terms of runs of 40-plus yards. He had 3, while the only back who had more was Bilal Powell (on nearly 50 more attempts). The other backs with 3 such runs all had about twice as many attempts.
| RUNS OF 20- AND 40-PLUS YARDS, 2017 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Att | Yds | Avg | Long | TD | 20+ | 40+ |
| Bilal Powell, NYJ | 178 | 772 | 4.3 | 75t | 5 | 9 | 4 |
| Jordan Howard, Chi. | 276 | 1122 | 4.1 | 53 | 9 | 5 | 3 |
| Kareem Hunt, K.C. | 272 | 1327 | 4.9 | 69t | 8 | 12 | 3 |
| Mark Ingram, N.O. | 230 | 1124 | 4.9 | 72 | 12 | 11 | 3 |
| Kenyan Drake, Mia. | 133 | 644 | 4.8 | 66t | 3 | 7 | 3 |
| Leonard Fournette, Jac. | 268 | 1040 | 3.9 | 90t | 9 | 4 | 2 |
| Jay Ajayi, Mia.-Phil. | 208 | 876 | 4.2 | 71 | 1 | 6 | 2 |
| Derrick Henry, Tenn. | 176 | 744 | 4.2 | 75t | 5 | 5 | 2 |
| Orleans Darkwa, NYG | 171 | 751 | 4.4 | 75t | 5 | 6 | 2 |
| Cam Newton, Car. | 139 | 754 | 5.4 | 69 | 6 | 5 | 2 |
| Corey Grant, Jac. | 30 | 248 | 8.3 | 58 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| Cordarrelle Patterson, Oak. | 13 | 121 | 9.3 | 47t | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| LeSean McCoy, Buff. | 287 | 1138 | 4.0 | 48t | 6 | 12 | 1 |
| Melvin Gordon, LAC | 284 | 1105 | 3.9 | 87t | 8 | 5 | 1 |
| Todd Gurley, LAR | 279 | 1305 | 4.7 | 57t | 13 | 8 | 1 |
| C.J. Anderson, Den. | 245 | 1007 | 4.1 | 40 | 3 | 7 | 1 |
| Carlos Hyde, S.F. | 240 | 938 | 3.9 | 61 | 8 | 6 | 1 |
| Latavius Murray, Minn. | 216 | 842 | 3.9 | 46 | 8 | 7 | 1 |
| Alex Collins, Balt. | 212 | 973 | 4.6 | 50 | 6 | 6 | 1 |
| Marshawn Lynch, Oak. | 207 | 891 | 4.3 | 51t | 7 | 5 | 1 |
| Isaiah Crowell, Clev. | 206 | 853 | 4.1 | 59 | 2 | 5 | 1 |
| Jonathan Stewart, Car. | 198 | 680 | 3.4 | 60t | 6 | 1 | 1 |
| Devonta Freeman, Atl. | 196 | 865 | 4.4 | 44 | 7 | 5 | 1 |
| DeMarco Murray, Tenn. | 184 | 659 | 3.6 | 75t | 6 | 3 | 1 |
| Dion Lewis, N.E. | 180 | 896 | 5.0 | 44 | 6 | 7 | 1 |
| LeGarrette Blount, Phil. | 173 | 766 | 4.4 | 68 | 2 | 7 | 1 |
| Tevin Coleman, Atl. | 156 | 628 | 4.0 | 52 | 5 | 6 | 1 |
| Jerick McKinnon, Minn. | 150 | 570 | 3.8 | 58t | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Alvin Kamara, N.O. | 120 | 728 | 6.1 | 74t | 8 | 5 | 1 |
| Christian McCaffrey, Car. | 117 | 435 | 3.7 | 40 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Alfred Morris, Dall. | 115 | 547 | 4.8 | 70 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| Elijah McGuire, NYJ | 88 | 315 | 3.6 | 69t | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Tarik Cohen, Chi. | 87 | 370 | 4.3 | 46 | 2 | 4 | 1 |
| Aaron Jones, G.B. | 81 | 448 | 5.5 | 46t | 4 | 6 | 1 |
| Alfred Blue, Hou. | 71 | 262 | 3.7 | 48 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Chris Thompson, Wash. | 64 | 294 | 4.6 | 61t | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Alex Smith, K.C. | 60 | 355 | 5.9 | 70 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| Jalen Richard, Oak. | 56 | 275 | 4.9 | 52t | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| Rod Smith, Dall. | 55 | 232 | 4.2 | 45 | 4 | 1 | 1 |
| T.J. Yeldon, Jac. | 49 | 253 | 5.2 | 58t | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Damien Williams, Mia. | 46 | 181 | 3.9 | 69 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Mitchell Trubisky, Chi. | 41 | 248 | 6.0 | 46 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Deshaun Watson, Hou. | 36 | 269 | 7.5 | 49t | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Cameron Artis-Payne, Car. | 18 | 95 | 5.3 | 43 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Trey Edmunds, N.O. | 9 | 48 | 5.3 | 41t | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Looking at runs of 20-plus yards, only five had more than Drake. Powell -- maybe he's a little underrated? -- and four guys who had a lot more carries last year.
Drake was the 18th running back selected in the Fantasy Index Experts Draft earlier this week, late in the third round. Some hesitance, apparently, to count on him as a fantasy starter. That's even though Ballage and Gore weren't drafted until 10 or more rounds later.
Will be interesting to see how the Dolphins use these different backs in the preseason, but a lot of potential for Drake to put up big numbers.
--Andy Richardson