Kenyan Drake

Raiders running back Kenyan Drake and head coach Jon Gruden both commented on Las Vegas' pursuit of the running back in a recent interview with ESPN.com. The former explained his appreciation for the team's aggressive courting of him and the opportunity to play alongside Josh Jacobs while the latter confirmed his fascination with Drake's playing style.

Fantasy Impact

"He can run it, catch it and return it," said Gruden, once again offering up strong praise in regards to Drake's versatility. "He's a threat to make a big play with or without it." Meanwhile, Drake said that once his "name kind of got going [in free agency], Gruden was just head and shoulders above everybody, in terms of interest in my ability to kind of come in and be a playmaker in a lot of facets of the game." Drake, who could see time as both a running back and receiver, had a career year in 2020, rushing for 955 yards and 10 touchdowns over 15 games. He added 25 catches for 137 yards. The 27-year-old ranks 30th among running backs in the latest expert consensus draft rankings.

Vic Tafur with The Athletic is reporting that Kenyan Drake may be playing some of his snaps in Las Vegas as a wide receiver.

Fantasy Impact

This is great news for those that are rostering Josh Jacobs as the immediate reaction was that the two running backs would be in a timeshare. Drake has shown flashes as a great receiver out of the backfield, but is only averaging 3.0 targets per game throughout his career. Because Jacobs has struggled as a pass-catcher so far, there's a good chance that we'll see both backs on the field at the same time. A lot of this could be coach-speak, but Drake could certainly start inching up PPR draft boards if he is practicing with the receivers in summer camp.

Former Cardinals RB Kenyan Drake is signing a two-year, $14.5M deal with the Las Vegas Raiders.

Fantasy Impact

Jon Gruden apparently sees Drake as a “jack of all trades” kinda of running back to pair with Josh Jacobs. Drake figures to be used on passing-downs and be sprinkled in on first and second down as well. This move hurts Jacobs’ fantasy value as well as Drake’s, although the latter was never thought to be hanging around in Arizona in 2021. There’s now a gaping hole to fill in the Arizona backfield, and Chase Edmonds could be that guy. The Cardinals are also likely to be a player in the free agency market and also could select another running back come the NFL Draft.

Kenyan Drake rushed 10 times for just 36 yards and caught 3-of-3 targets for 15 yards in a 18-7 Week 17 loss to the Rams.

Fantasy Impact

Drake couldn't find much running room against a stout Rams front seven and saw just 10 carries on the day. He finishes the 2020 season with 955 yards on the ground with 10 touchdowns. It's unknown at this point if Drake remains a Cardinal in 2021, as he played on the one-year transition tag this season.

Kenyan Drake rushed 18 times for 45 yards and a touchdown and caught 2-of-2 targets for five yards in a 20-12 loss to the 49ers in Week 16.

Fantasy Impact

Chase Edmonds had to leave this game early with a hip injury, so Drake saw the majority of work from the 2nd quarter on. He ended up getting 18 carries and was able to find the end zone in the 4th quarter in what was the Cardinal's only touchdown on the day. Drake gets the Rams tough run defense in Week 17.