Did Dolphins do enough at running back?

The Miami Dolphins entered the 2016 off-season needing running back help. They lost Lamar Miller to free agency and made no additions to the unit until the draft. No significant moves that is.

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The biggest free agen acquisition this off-season at the position was Daniel Thomas. The same Daniel Thomas Miami fans couldn’t wait to get out of Miami. The Dolphins, currently going through OTA’s have five runners on their roster.

Led by 2nd year runner Jay Ajayi, the Dolphins will enter training camp, presumably, with Ajayi, Damien Williams, Daniel Thomas, Kenyan Drake, and Isaiah Pead, another free agent addition to the team.

This week, Williams is missing time on the sidelines with an undisclosed injury. He is supposed to enter the season as the primary back-up to Ajayi. It’s unlikely that Thomas will show enough to warrant significant playing time and Pead’s career has been uninspiring thus far.

Questions about Ajayi linger. He missed the opening weeks last year with a chest injury and was coming off a severe knee injury when the Dolphins drafted him. Ajayi believes that he can be an every down featured running back. The Dolphins apparently agree. There are not a lot of options out there but what’s missing right now is the fact that Miami was ready to add another runner early in the draft.

Miami was very high on Ezekiel Elliot who was drafted by the Cowboys at number 4 overall. A year earlier they were ready to draft Todd Gurley but he was gone before they were on the clock. The Dolphins offered a contract to free agent running back C.J. Anderson but that was matched by the Broncos.

In other words, the Dolphins can say they are competent but have shown interest that dispels that notion.

The Dolphins really have no other options right now but to leave the team on Ajayi’s legs. If he stays healthy, he should be serviceable but is ready to be a game changing runner? Last year he showed quite a few flashes of his bruising and quick step style.

Looking at Drake is interesting as well. Taken in round three, Drake could be a powerful option behind Ajayi but if Ajayi goes down will Drake be able to handle the offense on his own? He is used to splitting carries, something he did at Alabama under Nick Saban.

Overall the Dolphins running back unit is a question mark and a question that won’t get answered at best until training camp but more likely as the season progresses.