Fantasy Football fallout: Jay Ajayi to the Philadelphia Eagles

Jay Ajayi has had a disappointing season up to now, but can his fantasy football owners expect a revival with the Philadelphia Eagles?

There’s some time left before the NFL trade deadline at 4 p.m. ET Tuesday afternoon, but it’s safe to say one of the most notable moves from a fantasy football perspective will be the Miami Dolphins sending running back Jay Ajayi to the Philadelphia Eagles for a fourth-round pick. The end seemed near when Dolphins head coach Adam Gase called him out after a 40-0 loss last Thursday night, but there’s no denying Ajayi has had a very disappointing season to this point (3.4 yards per carry, zero touchdowns).

Going from one of the league’s worst offenses to one of its best is good news for Ajayi, and in particular, he’s getting an upgrade at offensive line. So will the Boise State product have a legit fantasy revival on a new team over the rest of the season?

If nothing else, the Eagles have depth at running back. But LeGarrette Blount is primarily an early down grinder and touchdown scorer, Wendell Smallwood has missed a couple of games and Corey Clement is purely backup material at this point. Ajayi has not yet proven to be a capable and consistent pass catcher, but a fresh start should benefit him.

Blount is RB27 in ESPN PPR scoring right now, with Ajayi behind him at RB30 entering Week 9. A potential workload split won’t do either guy any favors, but Blount and Ajayi are both still in the RB2/RB3-flex conversation each week. Smallwood, for what it’s worth, can be comfortably dropped outside the deepest of leagues.

In Ajayi’s place, Kenyan Drake and Damien Williams will take over as Miami’s top two running backs. Drake has 43 carries and 12 catches over his two NFL seasons, but he may now be the proverbial No. 1 on the depth chart. Williams took passing down work from Ajayi in recent weeks, and while it’s not saying much he has seven receptions over the last four games.

Next: NFL Power Rankings: Week 9

As expected, Drake and Williams are very widely available in fantasy leagues. But mass moves to add either of them off the waiver wire should not be coming, due mostly to the inept state of the Dolphins offense.