Dolphins running back Jay Ajayi knows how great he can be. He’ll definitely have a chance to prove it.
New coach Adam Gase envisions giving Ajayi plenty of chances to show what he can do.
“Any time you’re playing that spot in this offense, you have to be able to do it all,” Gase told reporters on Monday, specifically in response to a question about Ajayi’s receiving skills. “It’s not a one-trick pony type of offense. You have to be able to protect. You have to be able to run the ball. You have to be able to catch. So we really don’t believe in, ‘Hey, you’re just a first- and second-down back.’ I don’t know what that means. We look for guys that can stay on the field all three downs because we’re not looking to ‘sub’ personnel. We want guys that can be in great shape, stay out there and then, if we need to switch somebody out because we’re having a long drive, then so be it. But really, whoever the guy is that we’re starting with in the series, that’s the guy I want to finish.”
So if Ajayi is the starting tailback, presumably starting every drive, he’ll be finishing every drive, too. Or at least most of them.
The key will be staying healthy. And it was health concerns that caused him to slide to round five a year ago. At the college level, however, he proved that he can indeed do it all. He’ll now get his opportunity to do it all the next level.