The Houston Texans have an issue at running back. Depth is desperately needed, and there is a free agent who could be a great solution: Jay Ajayi.
A former Pro Bowler and Super Bowl champion, the London native is coming off of a year cut short by a torn ACL. However, his track record is solid, and he has proved to be a productive rusher when given the opportunity.
Personality differences led to his time with the Miami Dolphins being cut short, and a rotation of starters during his time in Philadelphia with the Eagles meant his stats didn’t jump off the page.
However, he is a powerful runner when at his best. Ajayi still has youth on his side — he’ll turn 26 next month — not to mention experience on the biggest of stages. Because he’s coming off an injury, it is likely that the Texans would be able to negotiate a reasonable deal, and Ajayi would provide solid depth behind starter Lamar Miller and alongside questionable backup D’Onta Foreman.
Miller isn’t the answer
Miller is coming off a Pro Bowl year. However, his performances were sporadic at best, and he only made the Pro Bowl as an alternate. His injury history is extensive, his running inconsistent and sluggish, and at 28 he isn’t getting any younger.
In seven years in the NFL, he has hit 1,000-plus yards only twice (2014 and 2016), and while he came extremely close in 2018 with 973, that does not make up for his aforementioned inconsistency.
Foreman is unproven
The former Texas Longhorn showed flashes his rookie year (2017) of why he won the Doak Walker Award in college as the nation’s top college running back. However, a ruptured Achilles prematurely ended his season and kept him sidelined for the majority of the 2018 campaign.
Entering 2019, he looks healthy and fit, but there is no knowing if he will ever be the same player he was before the injury. Foreman has potential, yes, but he is very much unproven.
Ajayi adds certainty
One thing this Texans running back group is missing is reliability. Ajayi may be an emotional player, and he may have had injury issues in the past, but when available he can be one of the most reliable backs in the league. The “Jay Train” has the ability to be a bulldozer. Not necessarily a nimble or pretty back, but a bullish one who sheds tacklers.
This is something the Texans simply don’t have. The closest they had to a downhill runner last year was Alfred Blue, who now plays down in Jacksonville with the Jaguars. Houston has two rookie backs whom they brought in through undrafted free agency in Damarea Crockett and Karan Higdon, but being rookies they will need time to prove their worth — and that’s if they even make the team.
Ajayi is experienced enough to be a plug-and-play starter who will get results and take some of the pressure off quarterback Deshaun Watson, who became Houston’s leading rusher toward the end of 2018.
The Texans have a sizable chunk of their cap space available, and ultimately they could do a lot worse than bringing in another weapon for this offense.
