Miami Dolphins - Fantasy News

Should I Start Kenyan Drake in Week 14?

by Derek Norton

12/8/17

NFL

Miami Dolphins

Kenyan Drake

Once an unknown commodity in a timeshare, Kenyan Drake has emerged as Miami’s lead back after Jay Ajayi was traded to the Eagles. Granted, it took an injury to Damien Williams, but those fantasy players using Drake will take the numbers however they can get them.

Drake showed he can be a high-volume running back after he earned 26 touches last week against the Broncos. Unfortunately, that likely won’t be the case on Monday Night Football against the Patriots in Miami.

Why Should I Start Kenyan Drake?

Drake is on a bit of a hot streak. He has at least 10 Dober Fantasy Points in four of his last five games, which is good news considering he’s projected to score nine Dober points this week. Eleven running backs have exceeded that projection against the Patriots this season.

We just saw the Dolphins play the Pats in Week 12, and Drake exceeded his Week 14 projection in that game with 10.2 Dober points. The only changes that have occurred since then work in Drake’s favor. Specifically, it looks like Williams is going to miss his second straight contest. If so, Drake’s stock will skyrocket. He saw career highs (by far) in touches and rushing yards on Sunday.

The Patriots allow the most yards per carry (5.1) in the league. Drake has 20 runs of more than five yards over the last five weeks and has the ability to score a long touchdown at any time. He also has some ability as a receiver and could contribute there if the Dolphins fall behind early.

Why Should I Bench Kenyan Drake?

The Alabama product has needed touchdowns to be usable, and that was particularly true in his meeting with the Patriots two weeks ago. He wasn’t close to surpassing his projection until he scored a meaningless touchdown in the fourth quarter when he was completely uncovered. The Pats held him to 2.2 yards per carry and he also lost a fumble.

The narrative going around is Drake’s 26-touch game was a result of Williams not playing, and that could be the case. It’s also true that the Dolphins were actually protecting a big lead for the first time this season. Four of their last five games were double-digit losses, which could have had an effect on Drake’s usage. From Week 10 to Week 13, he averaged 11 touches per game, ranking him 37^th among running backs in that period. The Dolphins are likely in for another beating, and we don’t know if Drake is going to get a ton of post-Williams touches like last week or just a few blowout touches like the previous month.

The Patriots give up plenty of yards to running backs, but they don’t give up many touchdowns. They’ve allowed four rushing scores to backs all season, which is tied for the fewest in the league. If you remove Week 1, when Kareem Hunt and Charcandrick West both got into the end zone in Kansas City’s glory days, the Patriots have first place all to themselves. Drake will have to hope the Pats forget about him again if he wants to get into the end zone. He may not be so lucky this time.

Should I Make Kenyan Drake a Week 14 Fantasy Starter?

Yes, but only if Williams doesn’t play. Since the game is Monday night, there will be developments to monitor over the weekend. If Williams sits, Drake is attractive as a volume play. But that’s about all he has going for him. Williams’ presence would turn Drake back into an 11-touch player who you hope gets lucky enough to get into the end zone at some point. As the sole running back, though, Drake could break a few long runs and catch enough passes in garbage time to make him a worthwhile, unenthusiastic start.

Week 14 Fantasy Prediction: Kenyan Drake Over 9 DFPs