Philadelphia Eagles: It’s time for Jay Ajayi to break loose

With Jay Ajayi leading the Philadelphia Eagles backfield he’ll have the chance to prove he’s one of the top running backs in the NFL

Heading into the 2018 season, the Philadelphia Eagles roster is as solid top-to-bottom as there is in the NFL. That would make sense as they’re the defending Super Bowl Champions. One area in particular that is a strength of the Eagles squad is the backfield. This upcoming year, the success of the running backs depend on one man: Jay Ajayi.

When Ajayi first arrived in Philadelphia, there were a lot of questions surrounding him. His talent was evident. In just his second NFL season, he finished as the league’s fourth highest rusher with 1,272 yards. But during the first seven games of 2017 with the Dolphins, his yards per carry average dropped to 3.4, all the way down from an impressive 4.9 the year before. Coupled with the rumors questioning Ajayi’s work ethic and lack of chemistry in the locker room, that made him a bit of a question mark.

Of course, all those worries immediately dropped out of Eagles fans’ minds when, in his Eagles debut against the Broncos, he ran for a 46-yard touchdown scamper late in the first half of a 51-23 blowout. From that game on, Ajayi made everybody forget about his lackluster start to the 2017 season and had everyone thinking about how the Eagles stole a star running back from the Dolphins for just a fourth-round draft pick.

Ajayi led the Eagles in rushing in six of the last eight games of the regular season, including averaging a whopping 5.8 yards per carry. He continued that hot stretch into the postseason by leading the Eagles in rushing in both NFC playoff games against the Falcons and Vikings. And he did all this while having to share carries with the incumbent starter, LeGarrette Blount.

That all brings me to my point about this upcoming year: It’s Jay Ajayi’s time to shine. Having a full offseason getting used to the Eagles system and playbook should make him even more comfortable out on the field.

Also, with Blount taking his talents to Detroit as a free agent ,the backfield has an opening for somebody to steal the headlines. Naturally, some people may think that Corey Clement’s performance in the Super Bowl would catapult him into a larger role, which should be true. But his talent to catch the ball out of the backfield will put him on the field more in third down situations, sharing that role with Darren Sproles. That will leave a bulk of the running game in Ajayi’s hands.

With the big play offense that the Eagles have Ajayi will have plenty of opportunities. And with Carson Wentz, Zach Ertz and Alshon Jeffery being threats to make a play at anytime, no team can key all their attention on Ajayi.

Next: NFL 2018: Ranking all 32 starting RBs

2018 just may be the year that Ajayi plants his name in the conversation of best running backs in the NFL. He has all the tools, now it’s time to shine and make his mark on the league.