Miami Dolphins: Kenyan Drake poised for a breakout season
By Larry Brake
The Miami Dolphins running game will be in the feet of Kenyan Drake and expect him to excel in the 2019 season with a breakout performance.
In the 2018 season, Frank Gore led the Miami Dolphins in rushing with 722 yards. Kenyan Drake will get his opportunity to be the Dolphins featured running back in 2019 with Gore no longer in Miami. Expect him to have a breakout season in his young career.
Drake enters his fourth season in Miami after being selected in the third round of the 2016 NFL Draft. In his career, he has rushed the ball 286 times for 1,358 yards with nine touchdowns. He has also caught 94 passes for 762 yards with six touchdowns.
The Miracle in Miami has etched Drake’s place in Dolphins franchise history. Remember how surprised and flustered the New England Patriots were as Drake scampered 69 yards for the winning score? You can expect more from him as his career progresses each season.
Not everyone is excited about the emergence of Drake as the Dolphins starting back. Maurice Jones-Drew of NFL.com ranked all 32 starting running backs recently. He ranked Drake at the next to last slot, 31st. Drake, however, will disprove that and be the beneficiary of new offensive coordinator Chad O’Shea. The running attack should be ignited by the new Dolphins passing attack. O’Shea coached the Patriots receivers last season.
Last season, Drake carried the ball 120 times for 535 yards. He averaged 4.5 yards per carry. Drake will move the chains on third-and-short. At the goal line, he will find the end zone more often than not.
Drake will face stiff completion at training camp from Kalen Ballage. Both players are big strong and speedy running backs. Drake should ultimately win the job, though, and Ballage will spell relief for him as Drake did for Gore.
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Jones-Drew will have to reshuffle his running back rankings after Drake runs through opposing defenses. Miami opens with four tough teams. Those games will show that Drake is a top NFL running back. Let’s hope that Drake can stay relative healthy this year. The Dolphins are poised to take the next step towards the AFC East division crown.