The Miami Dolphins have put their faith in Jay Ajayi this season. With the departure of Lamar Miller, Miami needed a new starting running back and they have chosen second year player Jay Ajayi. With no real competition on the roster for Ajayi, and no quality depth at the position, Miami needs Ajayi to remain healthy at all costs.
Heading into the draft there was much speculation about the running back position. Miami was predicted to be in the running for Ezekiel Elliot, a dynamic runner, out of OSU, who could come in and start right away. When Elliot was drafted by Dallas, Miami changed course to select a change of pace back for Jay Ajayi. With no serious competition left in the draft Miami elected to find a compliment to what they already had on the roster.
Since the draft Miami has not brought in anymore running backs to compete for the starting job. In fact the quality depth at the running back position is paper thin. After Ajayi on the depth chart Miami has an inexperienced Kenyan Drake, an unproven veteran in Damien Williams, and Camp Bodies like Isaiah Pead and Daniel Thomas. If Ajayi were to go down this season Miami would have no real threat at the running back position to turn too. That will spell huge problems for the Dolphins. Arian Foster is still on the market but they must wait and see when will he be healthy enough to do a physical. Teams like NE and Denver are lurking for his services.
The lack of quality backups to Jay Ajayi he needs to stay healthy this whole season. Miami’s offense has been unimpressive the last few seasons and if they want their record to improve, the offense must as well. Ajayi needs to show that he is beyond his injury history and can be a bell cow back for the Dolphins. He needs to handle the abuse of a full 16 game season and be able to take pressure off of Tannehill by creating a powerful running game.
Ajayi needs to show critics they are wrong about him. He needs to prove that he can stay healthy and play at a high level consistently. He needs to show why the Dolphins let Lamar Miller walk and put their full faith in him. There are a lot of expectations for Jay Ajayi this season, but none of them can be accomplished if he is on the sideline injured. All aboard the J train!!!
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