Kenyan Drake

BIOGRAPHY

Kenyan Drake was born on January 26, 1994, in Powder Springs, Georgia. He is a running back in the NFL.

 In his early years, Drake attended Hillgrove High School to play football. As a senior, he rushed for 1,610 yards with 18 touchdowns and was named the Gatorade Football Player of the Year for Georgia and was rated as a four-star recruit by Rivals.com. 

After he finished high school, Drake committed to the University of Alabama to play college football. As a freshman in 2012, Drake played in 12 games as a backup to Eddie Lacy and T. J. Yeldon. On September 8, against Western Kentucky, he had a 32-yard rushing touchdown. He finished the 2012 season, rushing for 281 yards on 42 carries with five touchdowns. As a sophomore in 2013, Drake appeared in 11 games with one start as the backup to Yeldon. On September 28, against Ole Miss, he had 99 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown and on October 12, against Kentucky, he had 106 rushing yards, two rushing touchdowns, and three receptions for 44 yards. He followed that up with 104 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns against Arkansas and he rushed for 694 yards on 92 carries with eight touchdowns and had 12 receptions for 135 yards and a touchdown by the end of the season. In 2014, Drake played in only five games his junior year and in his senior season in 2015, he played in 13 games. In the season opener against Wisconsin, he had 77 rushing yards, one rushing touchdown, and 48 receiving yards and in the next game, against Middle Tennessee State, he had 40 rushing yards, 91 receiving yards, and a receiving touchdown. Drake rushed for 408 yards on 77 carries with one touchdown and had 29 receptions for 276 yards and a touchdown by the end of the season and during Alabama's 45–40 win over Clemson in the 2016 College Football Playoff National Championship, he returned a kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter.

After he graduated from college, Drake entered the 2016 NFL Draft where he was selected in the third round by the Miami Dolphins, making him the third running back to be selected that year. In the 2016 season, Drake made his NFL debut against the Seattle Seahawks in the Dolphins season-opener. In the next game, against the New England Patriots, he scored his first professional rushing touchdown on a seven-yard rush in the fourth quarter and on November 6, against the New York Jets, he had a 96-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in the 27–23 victory. He played in all 16 games as a rookie, rushing for 179 yards and two touchdowns. In the 2017 season, Drake was named the backup running back to begin the season but in Week 12, Drake was named the starting running back. In Week 13, he rushed for a season-high 120 yards and a touchdown in a 35–9 win over the Denver Broncos and in Week 14, he totaled 193 yards from scrimmage against the New England Patriots, playing an integral part in the Dolphins 27–20 upset win. He finished the season with 644 yards on the ground and three touchdowns with six starts. In the first six games of the 2018 season, Drake had 210 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown to go with 21 receptions for 145 receiving yards and a receiving touchdown. He finished the 2018 season with 535 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns to go along with 53 receptions for 477 receiving yards and five receiving touchdowns. 

On October 28, 2019, Drake was traded to the Arizona Cardinals for a conditional sixth-round pick, which became Miami's original fifth-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. In his first game with the Cardinals, Drake posted 110 rushing yards with a touchdown during Thursday Night Football against the San Francisco 49ers in Week 9 as the Cardinals lost 25–28. In Week 15 against the Cleveland Browns, Drake rushed 22 times for 137 yards and four touchdowns during the 38–24 win. During Week 16 against the Seattle Seahawks, Drake rushed 24 times for 166 yards and two touchdowns, including an 80-yard touchdown, as the Cardinals won 27–13. Overall, in the 2019 season, Drake recorded 817 rushing yards and eight rushing touchdowns to go along with 50 receptions for 345 receiving yards. The Cardinals placed the transition tag on Drake on March 16, 2020.

On March 19, 2021, Drake signed a two-year, $14.5 million contract with the Las Vegas Raiders.

On August 31, 2022, Drake signed with the Baltimore Ravens.