Kenyan Drake Gets Some Love in Fantasy Projections
Cardinals running back Kenyan Drake got some love this week.
On si.com, Mark Morales-Smith identified a handful of underrated fantasy players to watch during the 2020 season, and Drake was in the small group.
Morales-Smith wrote, “The most obvious choice among the many fantasy veterans is Drake. Once he went to Arizona last season in Week 9 via trade from Miami, he was the fourth-best fantasy RB for the remainder of the season. He now has had time to learn the offense. David Johnson is gone, and the offense's supporting cast is improved. Kyler Murray was good last season but should be better. The offensive line looks improved, and of course, they added DeAndre Hopkins on the outside. This seems like a no-brainer. However, Drake is barely being drafted as a top 20 running back. He was scarcely used with the Dolphins driving his production down. Efficiency has never been an issue, and he should be much fresher than most 26-year-old backs looking at a significant workload in 2020.
“Drake has legitimate RB1 potential this season and, with just over 450 career carries, could have a solid four or five years left in him. His usage was light during his college days at Alabama, so there is plenty of tread left on those wheels. You get value here in both PPR and standard leagues. We already knew he had PPR value coming from Miami. Still, he showed the ability to be a top ball-carrier and find the end zone in Arizona when finally given an opportunity last season.”
In eight games for the Cardinals last season, Drake had 988 yards from scrimmage (871 rushing and 4.8 yards per attempt) and eight touchdowns. It doesn’t take a math wizard to figure out what those numbers project to over a 16-game season.
Of course, the addition of Hopkins could reduce Drake’s workload. He had 198 touches in those eight games, an average of 24.8 per game. The flip side is that the improved receiving corps could translate to more open spaces for Drake to run, and potentially more opportunities in the red zone.
Following is the link to the entire story by Morales-Smith:
https://www.si.com/fantasy/2020/05/11/underrated-dynasty-players
