When the rumors about Kenyan Drake started, I for sure thought Detroit would land him, or another team in contention who needed a running back. To all our surprises this morning it was announced that Drake is being moved to the Arizona Cardinals. This is a lot to take in for Arizona backfield owners but let's break it down.
Miami Impact
Mark Walton is the running back to own, if you want the torture. You should always want your running backs attached to high scoring offenses and I’m sorry Dolphins' fans, but Walton is not attached to one. He has some good match ups where he can be a good plug in guy for bye weeks or injuries. He still has the Jets twice, the Bills again who can be beat on the ground, the Giants and even the Bengals in the Tua Bowl. No, he’s not a league winner, but with a juicy schedule he should provide you a nice floor. Kallen Ballage is no more than a TD vulture who I do not find worth owning except maybe in deeper leagues where you’re desperate.
Arizona Impact
Clearly there is more to David Johnson’s injury than we know, along with Chase Edmonds' suffering a hamstring injury this week against the Saints. Edmonds won’t be ready for a Thursday Night game, and Drake gives Arizona a good starter right now. If David Johnson is traded/put on IR, I think Edmonds is still the guy to own. Drake has never had a full workload and I think he is a depth piece for the Cardinals, but I would wait and see. If he gets the 75% of the workload with Johnson and Edmonds in the backfield he is a mid-range RB2 with weekly upside. He is not a buy candidate yet; he has a tough TNF game on a short week and then a bye week than you can buy him if we learn more.
There is still a lot of unknown with this trade, even the draft pick given up for Drake before we can make assumptions. I think Arizona needed a running back and they got a good one to help them out. Until more comes out about David Johnson or Edmonds injury Drake is in fantasy limbo.
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