Kenyan Drake weighs in on running back holdouts, battle with Ballage
The tide might finally be turning for NFL running backs trying to get paid — and just in time for Dolphins fourth-year pro Kenyan Drake to cash in.
Training camp holdouts by star backs Ezekiel Elliott and Melvin Gordon are really the leverage for tailbacks, whom even Drake acknowledged are viewed as “a dime a dozen” by league coaches and GMs.
But if Elliott and Gordon can force the Cowboys and Chargers, respectively, to pay more than the teams had planned to get them back on the field, the trickle-down effect could help lesser-known players like Drake pad their bank accounts.
So no surprise, then, that Drake is all for Elliott and Gordon trying to get theirs.
“They’re trying to change the narrative with how running backs get paid, how they’re seen, with the versatility that we have,” Drake said after practice Friday. “We pass block and catch the ball out of the backfield. We run the ball. Some even throw the ball. ... We do a lot of things, and I think we need to be compensated as such.”
Drake added: “Zeke and Melvin, they’ve done it year-in and year-out, so I feel like they should be compensated for the things that they’ve accomplished. ... Whatever they’re trying to accomplish, I’m happy for them and wish them the best. I’m focused on what I got to do. Hopefully when I get the leverage to do what I need to do, I get the same respect.”
Drake will have a ton more leverage if he’s given the ball a ton more than he has been his first three seasons. But that’s no sure thing.
Adam Gase refused to give the Drake the ball as often as Drake seemingly deserved, based on his career averages (4.7 yards per carry since entering the league in 2016).
A new coach must mean a fresh start, right?
Well maybe, maybe not.
Two days into training camp, it’s Kalen Ballage, not Drake, getting the first and most work with the starters.
“I know who I am and what I can control. It’s all about controlling the controllables,” said Drake, who averaged just 7.5 rushes per game last season. “There’s only one ball. I try to go out there and put my team in the best position to win games. That’s all I can do.”
Credit Drake — his position group’s most experienced player — for continuing to take the high road.
He bit his tongue last season when first Frank Gore and then Ballage got more carries in 2018.
But Drake also understands that if he wants a payday even half of what Elliott or Gordon are trying to get, he needs to make a splash in 2019.
“I’d obviously be lying if I said that it wasn’t on my mind,” Drake said. “But the thing that I’m focusing on, I’m not looking too far ahead. How I control the future is how I control the present. Every day I’m in here, I’m in my playbook, I’m trying to lead by example. ... It’s still early out here. It is what it is. I’m excited for the opportunity to come out here and help this team win a lot more games.”
Flores will have to love hearing that. Me guys are going to be sent to the back of the line in Flores’ team-first organization.
And while Flores all but acknowledged Friday that Ballage has a big role and the second-year rusher has done “a great job,” he also made a point to praise Drake, who dropped five pounds over the summer to improve his conditioning.
The truth is, both will play this year. How much? That depends more on how many first downs the Dolphins gain than anything else. Gase’s offense was never on the field last year, contributing to Drake’s lack of carries.
“You can expect us to put guys in positions to do things that they do well,” Flores said. “If we’ve got a guy who can do everything well, then you might see that guy on every day. If we have guys that are better at one role and not as good at another, we’ll try to put those guys in those positions. Sometimes guys get tired. We need all of our guys to be versatile.”
This story was originally published July 26, 2019 at 2:08 PM.