Will Kenyan Drake rise in Phoenix for Cardinals this year?

Will Kenyan Drake have a huge year in Phoenix this year?

The 2019 campaign in the NFL had several pleasant surprises. From the resurrection of Ryan Tannehill‘s career in Tennessee to DeVante Parker‘s late-career bloom in Miami, we saw a number of unlikely scenarios pan out before our very eyes last year. Tannehill and Parker were not the only ones who shocked a lot of fantasy managers in 2019 though. Among the names of feel-good moments last season, Kenyan Drake‘s magical mid-season run with the Arizona Cardinals is somewhere toward the top of the list.

Prior to being traded to Arizona, Drake was practically invisible during his time in Miami.The Dolphins were tanking away their season with the hopes of landing a high pick in the 2020 Draft for their future. Sadly, this was going to put a major dent in any Miami player’s fantasy production and Drake was no exception.

In the six games he played with the Dolphins last year, Drake averaged a miserable 3.7 yards per carry with no scores. It was downright depressing to see a talented runner in Drake waste away a season in his prime with the Dolphins. He had a horrible offensive line which made it extremely difficult to be productive at any capacity. A change needed to be made to revive his career and luckily that occurred during the trade deadline last October.

It was painfully obvious that the Dolphins were sellers as the deadline was fast approaching and were willing to part ways with almost any of their few assets they had remaining. At the time, the Arizona Cardinals were desperate to fill their running back void as starter David Johnson was dealing with an ankle injury. The timing was perfect for both sides and a deal was struck to send Drake off to the desert.

Despite the Cardinals having their own difficulties throughout the year, they were in much better shape than Miami and rookie sensation Kyler Murray appeared to be taking strides in the right direction for his career.

Drake’s first contest with Arizona occurred on October 31 against the San Francisco 49ers. It was a tough task for the newcomer as he was going to face up against a top-ten run defense. Surprisingly, Drake had one of the most productive outings of his career as he racked up 110 yards and a score on 15 carries against Arizona’s division foes. He also tacked on an additional 52 yards through the air on four grabs to cap off the night with 24.2 fantasy points in half-PPR league formats.

Kliff Kingsbury and the Cardinals’ organization fell in love with Drake soon after and began using him as the team’s premier running back for the remainder of the season. By the end of the year, Arizona improved their offensive stats as a whole and averaged around 22.6 points (16th) and 124.4 rushing yards (10th) per game. Drake’s presence was one of the major factors for Arizona’s strong  finish to the 2019 season on offense.

He completed the year as Arizona’s leading rusher with 643 yards and eight total touchdowns. David Johnson, who at the time was the team’s highest-paid running back, was relegated to a backup role and practically forgotten with his lack of usage even when fully healthy.

The Cardinals had made up their mind and Drake did not disappoint especially during the final month of action in 2019. During the last three weeks, he was RB2 in half-PPR formats while averaging 28.9 points per contest. Only Saquon Barkley averaged more points during that stretch than Drake.

He also scored seven touchdowns in that span and was second in total rushing yards while he averaged 6.3 per tote. His red hot finish to 2019 solidified any doubts Arizona’s organization may have been feeling about Drake during the year.

This past March, the Cardinals decided to part ways with their high-paid running back David Johnson and shipped him off to Houston in a lopsided trade as they received DeAndre Hopkins as compensation. Thanks Bill O’Brien!

With Johnson’s departure, Drake is left as the primary runner to lead Arizona’s backfield in 2020. The Cardinals have improved immensely on offense with key additions such as Hopkins and rookie Josh Jones on the line. Kyler Murray appears to be mature and ready to take the next big step during his sophomore season in the NFL.

Furthermore, the presence of veteran Larry Fitzgerald will help Drake’s stock as well. He will continue to help develop Arizona’s young talent such as Christian Kirk and Andy Isabella in 2020. Opposing defenses will be so preoccupied defending all of the crazy outside threats that they may slip up and forget Drake exists in the backfield.

The Cardinals appear to be ready to step out of the basement of an incredibly competitive NFC West division which consists of the 49ers, Seattle Seahawks, and Los Angeles Rams. While it may seem daunting, Arizona has the pieces on offense to keep up with the rest of the pack in 2020.

Drake will be a major factor in Arizona’s success for this upcoming season just as he was during the back-end of 2019. Last year wasn’t a fluke and his production will only get better as the talent around him has significantly improved over the last several months.

Kingsbury is a young coach with an innovative imagination that will get Drake involved in not only the run game but the passing attack as well. His creative genius will allow Drake to spread his wings in 2020 and show off a full year’s worth of production for fantasy managers to observe.

Drake is currently going somewhere towards the end of the fourth round in many mock drafts at this time. It’s still very early and a lot can change between now and when the regular season begins.

While his draft stock may be considered low, now’s the time to go out and select him without risking too much. He can be selected at a low cost as many people should already have their top running backs selected by the end of the fourth round.

Drake is someone to take as a low-end RB2 or possible flex depending on your personal draft strategy. If his production pans out as I am anticipating, the rewards can be great. He could very well be a league winner for many people if he is drafted at the right spot which is somewhere in the fifth round or so.

Don’t pass up this opportunity to get him at a fairly low price, because if you decide to pass and he blows up in 2020, the cat will be out of the bag and it may be too late to get him on your roster for next season.