Kenyan Drake

After he signed a fairly lucrative two-year contract with the Raiders last offseason, it was assumed the team had a substantial role planned for Drake, who scored 10 TDs the year before in Arizona. That may have been the case, as he saw double-digit touches in each of the first three weeks of 2021 while Josh Jacobs was banged up, but after doing little with those opportunities Drake's workload shrank, and he saw 25-plus snaps on offense only once more before his season ended early due to a broken ankle. He returned healthy this summer but wasn't able to impress the new coaching staff, ultimately getting released by the Raiders in August. Drake signed with the Ravens shortly thereafter, landing on his feet with a team that has more question marks in the backfield.

While he posted the best rushing totals of his career last season for the Cardinals, Drake still fell short of the lofty expectations created by his initial eight-game stint with the team the year before. Part of the problem was a lack of usage as a pass catcher; he didn't see more than two targets, or finish with more than nine receiving yards in a game, until Week 11, as Chase Edmonds emerged as Kliff Kingsbury's preferred passing-down back. Drake did see a healthy workload on the ground, but aside from a 164-yard eruption against the Cowboys in Week 6, he lacked the big-play ability he'd flashed in prior seasons, or maybe the Arizona offensive line simply didn't give the opportunities he needed to make the most of his elusiveness and speed. After landing a two-year contract from the Raiders, Drake joins fellow Alabama alum Josh Jacobs in a dangerous two-headed backfield where Jacobs figures to handle most of the running between the tackles. It could be a productive formula for the Las Vegas offense as a whole, but it probably won't give Drake enough touches to reach 1,000 scrimmage yards again, especially if he has to compete with holdover Jalen Richard for passing-down work.

Through the first six games of last season, Drake was once again an afterthought in a mess of a Miami backfield, and he never managed more than 44 rushing yards in a game while splitting carries with lesser talents like Kalen Ballage. Eventually dealt to a Cardinals team in need of warm bodies in the backfield, Drake gave his new team much more that it could have expected, erupting for 110 yards in his first game for Arizona and later capping the season with 363 yards and seven rushing TDs in the final three weeks. In coach Kliff Kingsbury's offense, Drake's speed and elusiveness were on full display, and in the process he established himself as a viable No. 1 back for the Cards. Good as his half-season debut was, however, it's possible his ceiling is even higher. He didn't get much of a chance to show his skills as more than dumpoff/screen receiver for his new coach, and the offense as a whole figures to take a huge step forward with DeAndre Hopkins joining the fray and second-year quarterback Kyler Murray expected to continue his development. With Chase Edmonds around as a capable backup, Drake may be capped at 250-300 touches, but if you combine his second-half rushing pace from 2019 with his 2018 receiving numbers, he'd be among the elite fantasy options at his position.

Expected to step into a starting role in 2018, Drake instead saw fewer carries than he had the year before, as since-fired coach Adam Gase stuck the third-year back into a timeshare with the ageless Frank Gore. To be fair to Gase, Gore actually posted the higher YPC of the two, and the coach did deploy Drake much more often as a receiver, but the end result was barely 1,000 scrimmage yards for the Alabama product. Drake's big-play ability is unquestioned, and he possesses elite elusiveness as well as the speed to escape defenders in the open field. Despite a frame that's a little narrower than the NFL ideal, he has yet to miss a game as a pro, likely due to the combination of his modest workload and the difficulty of laying a clean hit on him. With Gore in Buffalo and second-year back Kalen Ballage as his main competition, Drake once again has a chance to earn more work, but it remains to be seen whether new offensive coordinator Chad O'Shea (who spent a decade under Bill Belichick as the receivers coach and is accustomed to backfield committees) will commit to giving Drake 200-plus touches. The fourth-year pro saw his cause take a knock when he suffered a foot injury in August, leaving Ballage -- at least temporarily -- as the top option in the Miami backfield.

Drafted in the third round out of Alabama in 2016, Drake made his biggest impact as a rookie in the return game and entered last season stuck firmly behind Jay Ajayi on the depth chart. Coach Adam Gase liked what he saw, and when Ajayi was sent packing at the trade deadline, Drake finally got his chance to shine. Miami tried to keep his workload in check, but by Week 13 he was handling 20-plus carries per game without issue. He had 851 scrimmage yards in nine games after Ajayi's departure, including 594 yards over his final five once he fully locked down the lead role. Drake offers world-class elusiveness as a runner, and his 4.45 speed can turn even a small crease into a big play - skills he needed while working behind a banged-up offensive line. The Dolphins upgraded their interior line by swapping out Mike Pouncey for Josh Sitton, but they also restocked the depth chart behind Drake, signing Frank Gore and drafting Kalen Ballage in the fourth round. Drake's injury history in college does give Miami reason for concern with his workload, but despite Gase stating he wants to get Gore involved, it's difficult to envision the 13-year veteran wrenching a large number of touches from Drake.

A third-round pick out of Alabama last season, Drake didn't get much of a chance to contribute on offense after Jay Ajayi established a lock on the starting job. Drake has the physical attributes to be a threat, however, and his premium speed and explosiveness were on full display in 2016 as a kick returner, where Drake averaged over 30 yards per return with one touchdown. The Dolphins didn't make any significant additions to their RB depth chart in the offseason, so he should head into this season as Ajayi's top backup, but that assignment may not provide Drake with many more snaps than he got as a rookie. Ajayi is also a capable receiver, so despite his ability to turn any touch into a touchdown, Drake may have to settle for being a mere change-of-pace option for now.

Drake was a big play waiting to happen at Alabama, be it as a change-of-pace runner, a pass catcher or a return man. We love The Drake. His 95-yard kick return touch-down against Clemson was a big part of the Tide securing another championship. But how much of a workload can Drake realistically handle? He's just 210 pounds despite having a 6-foot-1 frame, and he battled major injuries (broken leg, broken arm) the last two seasons. The Dolphins would like Drake to get up to speed as quickly as possible, though the team's addition of Arian Foster could suppress Drake's short-term upside. Meanwhile, Jay Ajayi is unproven as a feature back, and after that it's just Damien Williams, Daniel Thomas, Isaiah Pead and Drake. A role awaits Drake, in any case, but he must re-prove his health after being slowed by hamstring issues this summer. How large said role might be hinges on how well the Foster experiment goes. Look for Drake to be a staple on kick returns (and perhaps punt returns) when the season begins, along with some spot work on offense. He was the third overall back taken in the draft (albeit in the third round), which tells you how Miami feels about him.