If you’re a fan of contract-year players, Kenyan Drake should be on your radar. He’s entering the final year of his rookie contract, and he’s looking to show he’s a starter-caliber back.
Drake has been mostly underutilized in his first three years, but he’s popped some big plays. As featured in a trivia question on this site last week, he’s the only player in the league who’s scored on a 45-plus yard run in each of the last three years. He was the principal figure in the touchdown of the year for the 2018 season, skipping into the end zone after receiving a lateral for a walk-off win against New England.
When the Dolphins elevated Drake into a featured, starting role for the final five games of the 2017 season, he put up top-10 numbers. Now Adam Gase (who tended to forget about the run) is gone, perhaps giving Drake more of an opportunity to show what he can do. He shared time with Frank Gore for most of last year.
Drake says he’s very much aware that how he plays will affect what kind of contract he signs next spring.
“It’s the reality of the situation,” said Drake in an article in the Palm Beach Post. “But I understand that what I do right now is going to affect that, when it comes. So I’m just putting the work in, right now, in the weight room, the film room, the practice field. Watching film. Putting myself in the best position. So when I come out here, there’s no hesitation. There is no what-ifs. I’m coming out here trying to put my best on the field. And at the end of the day I can look myself in the mirror and understand I gave my best and my best was what I put out here.”
I haven’t yet stacked a board. (Let’s see which teams select running backs in the draft next week.) But I would guess Drake will be one of the top 20 at the position on my board.
Over the last three years, 49 running backs have carried the ball at least 250 times. Only five of those backs have averaged more yards per carry than Drake. He’s also an effective pass catcher.
| YARDS PER CARRY (2016-18) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Att | Yards | Avg | TD |
| Alvin Kamara | 314 | 1,611 | 5.13 | 22 |
| Saquon Barkley | 261 | 1,307 | 5.01 | 11 |
| Matt Breida | 258 | 1,279 | 4.96 | 5 |
| Mark Ingram | 573 | 2,812 | 4.91 | 24 |
| Kareem Hunt | 453 | 2,151 | 4.75 | 15 |
| Kenyan Drake | 286 | 1,358 | 4.75 | 9 |
| Bilal Powell | 389 | 1,837 | 4.72 | 8 |
| Ezekiel Elliott | 868 | 4,048 | 4.66 | 28 |
| Devonta Freeman | 437 | 2,012 | 4.60 | 18 |
| Chris Carson | 296 | 1,359 | 4.59 | 9 |
| Derrick Henry | 501 | 2,293 | 4.58 | 22 |
| Christian McCaffrey | 336 | 1,533 | 4.56 | 9 |
| Isaiah Crowell | 547 | 2,490 | 4.55 | 15 |
| Jay Ajayi | 514 | 2,329 | 4.53 | 12 |
| Tevin Coleman | 441 | 1,948 | 4.42 | 17 |
| Spencer Ware | 265 | 1,167 | 4.40 | 5 |
| LeVeon Bell | 582 | 2,559 | 4.40 | 16 |
| Marlon Mack | 288 | 1,266 | 4.40 | 12 |
| C.J. Anderson | 422 | 1,847 | 4.38 | 9 |
| Jordan Howard | 778 | 3,370 | 4.33 | 24 |
| Joe Mixon | 415 | 1,794 | 4.32 | 12 |
| LeSean McCoy | 682 | 2,919 | 4.28 | 22 |
| Marshawn Lynch | 297 | 1,267 | 4.27 | 10 |
| Dion Lewis | 399 | 1,696 | 4.25 | 7 |
| Todd Gurley | 813 | 3,441 | 4.23 | 36 |
| Alex Collins | 357 | 1,509 | 4.23 | 14 |
| Melvin Gordon | 713 | 2,987 | 4.19 | 28 |
| Alfred Morris | 295 | 1,218 | 4.13 | 5 |
| Lamar Miller | 716 | 2,934 | 4.10 | 13 |
| DeMarco Murray | 477 | 1,946 | 4.08 | 15 |
| Latavius Murray | 551 | 2,208 | 4.01 | 26 |
| T.J. Yeldon | 283 | 1,132 | 4.00 | 4 |
| Giovani Bernard | 252 | 1,006 | 3.99 | 7 |
| Frank Gore | 680 | 2,708 | 3.98 | 7 |
| Carlos Hyde | 629 | 2,497 | 3.97 | 19 |
| David Johnson | 562 | 2,202 | 3.92 | 23 |
| Peyton Barber | 397 | 1,517 | 3.82 | 9 |
| Devontae Booker | 287 | 1,094 | 3.81 | 6 |
| LeGarrette Blount | 626 | 2,345 | 3.75 | 25 |
| Jeremy Hill | 263 | 980 | 3.73 | 9 |
| Jamaal Williams | 274 | 1,020 | 3.72 | 7 |
| Matt Forte | 321 | 1,194 | 3.72 | 9 |
| Adrian Peterson | 444 | 1,643 | 3.70 | 9 |
| Leonard Fournette | 401 | 1,479 | 3.69 | 14 |
| Alfred Blue | 321 | 1,181 | 3.68 | 4 |
| Jonathan Stewart | 422 | 1,521 | 3.60 | 15 |
| Jerick McKinnon | 309 | 1,109 | 3.59 | 5 |
| Chris Ivory | 344 | 1,206 | 3.51 | 5 |
| Doug Martin | 454 | 1,550 | 3.41 | 10 |
—Ian Allan