Dolphins' Frank Gore on Kenyan Drake: 'I Kinda See Why They Traded Jay Ajayi'

The 35-year-old Frank Gore has been in the NFL since the 2005 season and knows talent when he sees it, which is good news for fellow Miami Dolphins running back Kenyan Drake.

"I was like, 'Man, I kinda see why they traded Jay Ajayi,'" Gore said of Drake, per Jason Lieser of the Palm Beach Post. "He's very talented. Jay Ajayi was a great back, too, but Kenyan is a very talented guy. He's smart. He can do everything on the field. I think that me and him can really help this team be successful this year."

The Dolphins traded Ajayi to the Philadelphia Eagles during the 2017 campaign, and he proceeded to win the Super Bowl with his new team.

While Ajayi ultimately won the Lombardi Trophy, his absence cleared the way for Drake to tally 444 rushing yards and 150 receiving yards during the final five weeks of the 2017 season. Gore first thought that about the Ajayi trade while watching film of Drake exploit the Denver Broncos defense for 120 yards and a score on the ground.

Drake is just 24 years old, and Gore figures to serve as a veteran mentor for the Alabama product moving forward after he joined the Dolphins this offseason.

However, he isn't in Miami just to be a coach on the field, as Lieser noted head coach Adam Gase has installed him as a co-starter alongside the younger Drake. Gore even went as far as to suggest the 2018 campaign will not be his last.

"If I feel good and the Dolphins want me back, I'll come back. It's all on how I feel, but I just take it one year at a time, one day at a time."

Gore may have been impressed with Drake and understood the Ajayi trade because of it, but he was formidable in his own right last season with 961 rushing yards as a member of the Indianapolis Colts. He has nine seasons of more than 1,000 rushing yards in his career, including 2016, and has shown few signs of slowing as the 2018 campaign approaches.

The combination of Gore and Drake will be tasked with bolstering a Miami rushing attack that was a mere 29th in the league in yards per game last season and will need to improve if the team is going to compete in the AFC East.