NFL 2016: Top 5 running backs at midseason

5. Jay Ajayi

A demoralizing Week 5 loss to the Tennessee Titans had many people (including myself) decreeing the Miami Dolphins as dead in the water. However, the Fins have mounted possibly the quietest four-game winning streak in recent history and, in large part, that’s due to impact Ajayi’s had on the field.

Ajayi’s coming out party was against the then-4-2 Pittsburgh Steelers when he accrued 204 yards on 25 carries to go along with two touchdowns. He followed that up with a 214 yards and another touchdown against division rival and stout defense in the Buffalo Bills. Even though relatively pedestrian performances of 111 and 74 yards have brought Ajayi back down to Earth the past two weeks, there’s no doubting he’s helped open up the offense for head coach Adam Gase and a struggling Ryan Tannehill.

But yardage totals don’t tell the whole story. Ajayi’s leads the league in yards per attempt, third in the league in yards per game and is also tied with Ezekiel Elliot for most 20+ yards runs with eight so far. Those indicate Ajayi’s got a nice mix of not only explosiveness, but consistency: two things that will help keep the Dolphins very real Wild Card playoff hopes alive throughout the remainder of the season.

It’s a nice change of pace for Dolphins fans. They’ve seen backfield success before with the likes of Ronnie Hillman and most recently Lamar Miller. Yet they’ve never seen a running back spearhead the revamping of an entire offense while also making it count in the most important stat line: wins. Fins fans should be looking up from here on out.