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When Miami Dolphins’ running back Lamar Miller ran for a 97-yard touchdown in last year’s season finale vs. the New York Jets, he set a team record for longest TD run. If the Dolphins’ 2015 season record is to get better than a mediocre 8-8, Miller will need get more consistent and have a few more marvelous games.
Miller ended 2014 a yard shy of the 1100-yard mark. He had eight touchdowns while averaging slightly better than five yards per carry. Those are nice numbers, but not spectacular for a featured back. It’s almost a certainty that Miller will be the starting running back this season because he has shown enough spark in the past to help the Dolphins set the tone on offense. He’ll have competition for that starting role however.
Miami used one of its four fifth round choices in this May’s draft on Boise State running back Jay Ajayi. The bruising back brings a rushing style that Dolphins’ rooters haven’t seen in a while. Teaming Ajayi with Miller should form a one-two punch that may rival anybody’s in the AFC. Most likely, Miller will win the starting nod with Ajayi coming off the bench on third down and short yardage situations.
There may also be some competition coming from former Oklahoma Sooner ball carrier Damien Williams. The undrafted free agent showed some talent last season in a limited role, but will have to amaze coaches in training camp to jump ahead of Ajayi and then Miller. One sleeper to start for the Dolphins at running back is shifty LaMichael James. The former Oregon Ducks star has done well this spring and his ability to run with reckless abandon has opened a bunch of eyes. Yet, if you close your eyes and imagine the Dolphins’ backfield it’s almost impossible to see James instead of Miller in it.
Hopefully, the addition of Ajayi will light a little fire under Miller and also provide him enough rest during games to keep him fresh in the fourth quarter. There is no way the Dolphins can succeed if they don’t get more oomph from their rushers. Football fans in Miami have watched Miller play running back in high school, at the University of Miami and with the Dolphins. They have become accustomed to witnessing him have some huge moments just like the one he had in Week 17 a year ago. It would be incredibly uplifting for the Dolphins if those moments for Miller didn’t happen few and far between.
