Is Jay Ajayi the missing piece to the Philadelphia Eagles championship puzzle?
After much speculation, the Philadelphia Eagles have added an offensive playmaker in running back Jay Ajayi. But is he the missing piece to a championship puzzle?
Well, that was unexpected.
After fans and pundits alike heavily speculated about the Philadelphia Eagles trading for help at wide receiver, offensive tackle, or linebacker, front office genius Howie Roseman instead added a Pro Bowl playmaker at running back in former Boise State Bronco Jay Ajayi.
Ajayi, a former fifth-round pick, broke out last season as the Miami Dolphin‘s lead back and rushed for 1272 yards on only 260 carries and eight touchdowns while also contributing as a receiver out of the backfield.
But after struggling through a tough stretch following the injury of quarterback Ryan Tannehill, Head Coach Adam Gase and the Miami brass ultimately decided to move on from Ajayi in favor of collecting future assets, in this case, one of the Eagles four fourth-round picks in the 2018 draft.
Even though he has struggled with inconsistency so far this season, and has failed to reach the end zone on 56-touches this is a major acquisition for the Eagles.
In Ajayi, the Eagles are getting a running back who is virtually tailor-made for Doug Pederson‘s hybrid west coast offense, but is he the missing piece to a championship-caliber team?
Running Style
Unlike the backs currently on the Eagles’ roster, Ajayi is a slasher.
His ability to attack opposing defenses both between the tackles and on outside runs makes him an incredibly dynamic player, the likes of which the Eagles haven’t possessed since the LeSean McCoy-era.
While not quite as shifty as Shady, Ajayi is able to weave his 5-foot-11, 215-pound frame through traffic with ease, and is a legitimate home run threat on both the power and zone running run concepts.
With Ajayi now in midnight green, we will no longer be subjected to the sight of 250-pound LeGarrette Blount attempting to cut the ball outside on zone runs, and can finally start to utilize the athleticism of center Jason Kelce and left guard Stefen Wisniewski on pull-plays, something the team hasn’t utilized nearly as much this season as they did last season.
While it’s unlikely that Ajayi will receive 20-plus carries on too many occasion this season while sharing the offensive backfield with Blount, Corey Clement and the forgotten man, Wendell Smallwood, the former Dolphin has proven that he can be a playmaker with a heavy workload, as last season he went over the 200-yard mark on three separate occasions with extended carries.
Receiving ability
Coming out of college, the former Boise State Bronco was considered one of the most complete backs in the entire 2015 NFL Draft, and for good reason.
Ajayi was the only player in FBS history to have recorded at least 1800 rushing yards and at least 500 receiving yards in a single season and was viewed by many as a potential three-down back if he could remain healthy.
One of the staples of an Andy Reid, and by extension, Doug Pederson-offense is utilizing receivers out of the backfield, and in Ajayi, the Eagles may have found their most dynamic receiver in recent memory.
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Much like fan-favorite Darren Sproles, who is currently out for the rest of the season on injured reserve, Ajayi possesses freaky receiving abilities out of the backfield and can line up at multiple positions across the field. Having a back who can shift out of the backfield into the slot on passing plays is an obvious matchup nightmare for opposing defenses and could potentially make the Eagles offense even more dangerous than they already are.
Price
Arguably the most impressive part of the entire trade was the price tag.
To obtain a player coming off of a 1272 yard rushing performance and his first Pro Bowl, Roseman and company only had to give up a fourth-round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, an absolute bargain.
Think about that for a second, in all likelihood, the Eagles would have used one of those picks on a running back anyway, and in Ajayi, they are receiving a player who has already proven himself at the NFL-level.
This is the kind of move that championship-caliber teams like the New England Patriots make on the regular, and for the most part, they typically work out well.
Inserting a rusher of Ajayi’s pedigree onto a 7-1 team should give the Eagles a new offensive sparkplug, and they didn’t even have to subtract a player to get the deal done.
Because Jordan Hicks sustained a season-ending Achilles’ injury and was placed on IR, the Eagles had an open spot on their roster that their new running back could slide right into, and while it’s not ideal for their linebacking depth, the team’s chemistry will not take a hit due to one or more of their own being traded away to accommodate the deal.
But is Ajayi the missing piece for the Philadelphia Eagles?
While there’s no way of knowing exactly how the Eagles season will turn out, the addition of Ajayi has practically no downside for the team going forward.
For the price of a fourth-round pick, the Eagles are getting a young, athletic playmaker to pair with Carson Wentz and Zach Ertz on a bargain contract.
He’s an obvious scheme fit, who should meld well with the team’s established culture and help them to win in both the short term and the long term.
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If Ajayi can make the most of his touches for the remainder of the 2017 season, he could potentially establish himself as the Eagles new bell cow running back for years to come, a reward that is surely worth the minimal risk.