Jay Ajayi will play Week 4 but he’s been banged up this week. The Miami Dolphins must utilize their other backs in order to keep him fresh.
Miami Dolphins star running back Jay Ajayi has been a stud since earning his shot to start during his sophomore campaign in 2016. However, he fell in the 2015 NFL Draft due to long-term knee concerns. Ajayi found himself on the injury report with knee soreness before the team even took a snap this season and had been dealing with the soreness for a while.
Despite the knee soreness Ajayi handled 28 carries Week 2 and caught two passes. This led to a reported limp heading into Week 3 and another questionable tag and missed practices this Week leading to their third game Week 4 in London. Head coach Adam Gase does not seem to be interested in scaling back Ajayi’s workload despite the concerns surrounding his knee.
The issue is Miami has two other lesser but very capable backs. Kenyan Drake is a high-upside star with incredible playmaking ability. While Damien Williams is a fundamentally sound reliable option in all phases of the game. The Dolphins should find ways to get the ball in Drake’s hands more and Williams should carry more of a workload in all facets of the game. He can be used as a pass-catcher, blocker or run the ball in any situation.
More from Miami Dolphins
- Miami Dolphins: Jalen Ramsey’s injury not a huge set-back
- Dolphins could turn to other Vic Fangio favorites after Jalen Ramsey injury
- 2023 NFL Season: Evaluation 3 darkhorse MVP candidates
- Vikings to release Cook, Broncos, Dolphins to have interest
- Miami Dolphins: Which Jalen Ramsey will fans see in 2023?
With that said, through two games Ajayi has carried the ball 39 times. Drake and Williams have combined for just four carries. The same amount of carries Jay Cutler and Jarvis Landry have combined for. Ajayi also has more receptions than both backs combined.
While this is wonderful for fantasy owners, it may not be so great for the long-term success of the Dolphins both in 2017 and moving forward after this season.
Drake is a playmaker who needs to be given a chance to make plays and Williams is a capable body. If they expect Ajayi to play 16 games and be ready for a playoff run, both men should see about five carries with Ajayi seeing up in the area of 18 in games like Week 1. Ajayi shouldn’t handle much more than two-thirds of the work in the majority of games. They have the backs to work in and will need him down the stretch.
Next: NFL 2017: One burning question for each team, Week 4
History shows this kind of workload wears running backs down. Ajayi needs his workload cut back and the other backs are fully capable.