Kenyan Drake

Fantasy Football: Kenyan Drake Reportedly No. 1 RB in Week 3

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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The Miami Dolphins will be without starting running back Arian Foster for their Week 3 game against the Cleveland Browns. They are making a bit of a surprise move by reportedly naming Kenyan Drake as the top replacement.

A few fantasy football rosters might be seeing a bit of a change this week with Dolphins running back Arian Foster out against the Browns. Replacing him in the starting lineup is rookie Kenyan Drake, per multiple reports.

The rookie running back has been chosen over second-year player Jay Ajayi, who many figured would have a larger role with the Dolphins offense this season. The first two weeks have shown just how far down the depth chart Ajayi has fallen thus far in 2016.

Ajayi didn’t dress for Week 1 and last week he totaled five carries for 14 yards in Miami’s 31-24 loss to the New England Patriots. Foster this season had 16 carries for 47 yards. Sadly, the leading rusher for the Dolphins this season is quarterback Ryan Tannehill with 11 rushes for 52 yards. He has the longest carry for Miami at 17 yards, as ell.

Drake may have started from the bottom when on the depth chart after being drafted in the third round this past April, but now he’s here and ready to make his name known in the fantasy football world.

He played four years at Alabama and, though he was never their “star player,” he was productive at the collegiate level with 5.3 yards per carry in his final season. Drake last week in very limited play rushed for 12 yards on two carries, and scored one touchdown. He also made two catches for six yards.

Ian Rapoport of NFL.com wrote about the Dolphins running back situation Sunday morning:

“The Dolphins’ running back situation has been a platform for coach Adam Gase to instill discipline on his team and establish a culture. That has led to different players being unavailable for different reasons.”

With the recent injury history of Foster, he’s not reliable for the Dolphins or fantasy football owners to depend on each and every week. Miami has a few running backs, but as it has looked this season haven’t settled on a true backup to whomever the starter is on a given week.

Drake will also be making his first NFL start in Week 3, and coming against the winless Browns, it may not be an absolute blessing. Cleveland this season has allowed 213 yards rushing in two games, with opponents having a 3.6 yard per carry average against them.

The Browns though haven’t allowed a rush of 20 or more yards, and allowed just one rushing score. Their defense has also forced a fumble.

One good thing for Drake is he’s is facing a team that couldn’t hold a big lead last weekend against the Baltimore Ravens, and a team that is allowing over 100 yards per game rushing (106.5).

The Dolphins are rushing for 134 yards per game, averaging 3.7 yards per carry. They haven’t had a carry of 20 or more yards all season, so that kind of plays in favor of the Cleveland defense.

It well be a very interesting point to watch with Drake and how he can handle a larger role within an NFL offense for the first time in his career. Miami seems to have some unproven depth behind Foster on their roster too. This is a perfect chance for Drake to step up and take a more important and larger role with Miami from here on out.