Can Jay Ajayi maintain his position as the Philadelphia Eagles' starter?

Philadelphia Eagles running back Jay Ajayi has stressed the fact that he should be the number one back on the Eagles roster. Well, it looks like he’s finally getting his wish.

After a successful 2017 season, the Philadelphia Eagles have promoted running back Jay Ajayi to the starter’s position, at least for now. ‘The Birds’ made it official on June 14th, the last day of mini camp, when head coach Doug Pederson announced that the running back would head into training camp as the number one ball carrier on the depth chart.

Training camp will determine if he stays there. After all Coach Pederson has been quoted over and over about the fact that this team is still putting the team together, With that being said, even if he’s the starter now, we can assume that may change.

Here’s a quote from coach:

"Came in last year and obviously proved to us that he can handle it. He’s definitely going into camp as the No. 1 guy. It takes nothing away from what Corey [Clement] did or what [Darren] Sproles has done here, Wendell [Smallwood] is coming back, Matt Jones. You’ve got guys that are going to compete in that role."

Ajayi shines in 2017.

Ajayi proved that he was capable of carrying the load. That is evident by his 2017 stats with the Eagles. Through seven games, Ajayi rushed for 408 yards and a touchdown. He averaged 5.8 yards per carry.

While with the Miami Dolphins, Ajayi played only seven games in 2017 before he was traded to Philly. He rushed for 465 yards and averaged 3.4 yards a carry while there. All in all, he posted some nice numbers for a guy who only appeared in 14 regular season games.

Keeping the starter’s job won’t be easy.

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While Ajayi has earned the starting role, he will still have competition among the running back corps. Fellow teammates, Darren Sproles and Corey Clement for example, will be vying for playing time. Then you also have to factor in guys like Donnel Pumphrey, who Coach Pederson credits as being one of the young guys who have come a long way.

Let’s look at the old man on the roster.

Last season, an injury sidelined Sproles for the remainder of 2017’s campaign. He probably won’t be asked to carry a tremendous amount of the load, but he should see the field often.

Following the completion of the 2017 season, Sproles was on the verge of retiring. This off-season, the running back and return specialist announced he would be returning because he wanted to go out on bad terms, so you can bet that he has something to prove this year.

Just ask Sproles himself:

"I don’t have to play next year, but I’m leaning towards coming back. It can’t end like this."

Let’s take a look at some of the other guys.

Clement is entering the second season of his NFL career, and is looking to earn some more touches.

"I definitely want to get more touches, more carries, more catches out of the backfield this year. I want to be more of a key contributor. I don’t think that’s being greedy. I have a job to do and that’s to put this team in the best position possible [to win]."

His stats definitely show that he is capable of having a big year come next season. The former standout from the Wisconsin Badgers is just getting started.

Through 16 games, Clement rushed for 321 yards and four touchdowns. He also had ten receptions for 123 yards and two touchdowns. His biggest performance came in the post-season when he caught four passes for 100 yards and a touchdown in Super Bowl LII versus the New England Patriots.

Ajayi may be the lead back, but the number one rusher still needs to prove himself in training camp to maintain his status. If Ajayi doesn’t perform the same way he has in recent years, the highly talented Eagles running back corps has plenty of depth to replace his starting spot.

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Can Jay Ajayi maintain his position as the Philadelphia Eagles’ starter?

By Dominique Smith | Jun 23, 2018