Coming into the second year of his professional career, it was not clear if Kenyan Drake was on the roster for special teams purposes alone. Despite being a big-play machine in Tuscaloosa, Drake had a long injury history – a bad reputation to have for any player but especially a running back. However, when the Dolphins unexpectedly traded the rising star running back, Jay Ajayi, to the Philadelphia Eagles, Drake was asked to help pick up the load left behind.
To Dolphins fans’ delight, Drake proved to be a risk worth taking and now too looks to be a star in the making. It appeared that he was set to finish the year with a bang when a post-touchdown fight broke out. During the scuffle, it appears as though Drake was being held in some form of a headlock by another Bills player on the ground. After freeing himself, he flung a Bills helmet down the field in frustration. By the end of the scuffle, all of the refs had run out of flags to throw and began throwing their hats instead. Drake was ejected consequentially.
Kenyan Drake helmet toss! pic.twitter.com/sW61OuvW8U
— Zach Dean (@ZachDeanDBNJ) January 1, 2018
The day was by no means a bad one for him prior to being tossed, as he had already managed to put up 75 yards on 14 carries. The Dolphins will not be playing in the postseason this year, meaning today’s game was the finale to their 2017 campaign. On the season as a whole, Drake managed 569 yards and three scores on 119 carries despite not seeing double digit attempts until the team’s 12th game of the year.
With the scuffle and ejection now in the rear view, Drake and Co. can focus their efforts on improving during the offseason. If this year’s numbers hold true for #32, Drake could run himself into a lot more money sooner rather than later.
