Its official, Arian Foster Is going to the Miami Dolphins! Earlier today I got a notification on my phone that free agent Arian Foster had signed a 1 year deal worth 1.5 million dollars with the Dolphins. As soon as the news broke I couldn’t wait to get home and pour through the info, and the stats to figure out how all this changes the offensive outlook for the dolphins. The initial reaction I had to this news was how much it seems like the Dolphins have no faith in Jay Ajayi. They tried to re-sign Lamar Miller, but he wanted more money. They tried to sign C.J Anderson, but the broncos matched their offer to keep him. They tried to sign Chris Johnson, and he decided to stay with the cardinals. Then they took Kenyan Drake in the third round of the draft. Now they have signed Arian Foster, a once sure top 5 running back.
Although this is good news for foster, the past three seasons have been pretty disappointing, and injury filled. From 2010 to 2012, Arian Foster finished as the number 1, 4, and 3 running back in standard scoring. Since then Foster has only played 25 out of 48 possible games in the past three seasons. Even with that statistic, he still managed a top 5 performance in 2014. Foster may not be the player he once was, but don’t forget just what an incredible talent this guy is.
I don’t really expect Foster to be the lead back or the work horse, because his body won’t hold up to that many carries. I believe he will be used on passing downs, and could steal some goal line work from Ajayi because of his red zone ability. It’s hard to really tell what Ajayi’s role will be this year, simply because he has only played in 9 games, of which he only carried the ball 49 times. That’s only 5.4 carries a game, with which he averaged 4.8 yards a carry. Although statistically there isn’t much to go off of, Ajayi seemed to pass the eye test, as he ran with power and vison. The main thought analyst had coming into the season was that with miller gone Ajayi would become “the guy.” I still expect Ajayi to be the first and second down back, but It’s obvious the Dolphins don’t believe he can carry the team on his own.
Although this is good news for foster, the past three seasons have been pretty disappointing, and injury filled. From 2010 to 2012, Arian Foster finished as the number 1, 4, and 3 running back in standard scoring. Since then Foster has only played 25 out of 48 possible games in the past three seasons. Even with that statistic, he still managed a top 5 performance in 2014. Foster may not be the player he once was, but don’t forget just what an incredible talent this guy is.
I don’t really expect Foster to be the lead back or the work horse, because his body won’t hold up to that many carries. I believe he will be used on passing downs, and could steal some goal line work from Ajayi because of his red zone ability. It’s hard to really tell what Ajayi’s role will be this year, simply because he has only played in 9 games, of which he only carried the ball 49 times. That’s only 5.4 carries a game, with which he averaged 4.8 yards a carry. Although statistically there isn’t much to go off of, Ajayi seemed to pass the eye test, as he ran with power and vison. The main thought analyst had coming into the season was that with miller gone Ajayi would become “the guy.” I still expect Ajayi to be the first and second down back, but It’s obvious the Dolphins don’t believe he can carry the team on his own.
With all that being said, there’s always a chance Foster gets injured again, as durability has been his biggest downfall. Of course I don’t wish injury on any player, but it does happen, and some players tend to get injured more often than others, so keep that in mind. Before this news broke Ajayi was being taken at the beginning of the sixth round, I would probably drop him a few spots, but I would still take a chance on him somewhere in the late sixth early 7th round. As for foster, the 10th round is about where I would take him, mostly because of the injury concern. As always I’d love to hear your thoughts on the situation, and where you would take these two guys in your drafts!