"I feel like, in general, with my skill set, in my eyes, it allowed me to be the best back in the draft,"
Drake said, "and I want to continue to prove that through my NFL career."
Drake said his skill set extended beyond running back.
"I don't have to necessarily just be in the backfield to make a play,"
Drake said. "I can be lined up out wide, in the special-teams game -- and not necessarily just return the ball, but kickoff rundown, making a tackle on a kickoff. I feel like I try to make the most of every opportunity I have on the field and play every play like it's my last play. So I just give maximum effort on every play. ...
"I want to come here and definitely display my versatility, and not necessarily in my game specifically. But if I can cause a mismatch, make a defense play to me, that obviously leaves somebody else open, and we have, obviously, a multitude of weapons on this field that can be utilized and that just opens the game plan even more for everybody else."
Miami coach Adam Gase started his career under Drake's collegiate coach, Nick Saban. Gase said he knew Drake could be a top-flight special-teamer for the Dolphins in addition to his running-back duties.
"The more you can do the better,"
Gase said. "You only have so many spots on game day. When you have a guy like him that's done so much -- getting a guy that was in a program like Nick Saban's program, and being with Nick for as long as I was, you just know you're playing special teams. It doesn't matter how many snaps on offense or defense you play, you're a backup and you're going to play special teams. At this level, there's a handful of guys that don't play special teams, so you better be able to roll in here and contribute in that area."
Why Dolphins GM referenced Hall of Famer while discussing Kenyan Drake
Miami took Drake in the third round of the NFL draft Friday night
Drake said his time at Alabama had prepared him for the NFL because the talent on the team honed him for the pros and the Crimson Tide's offense would make the transition from college easier. "I just felt like practicing against, honestly, the best players in the country on a daily basis would give me an edge in any regard, first and foremost,"
Drake said. "The process of being in that kind of situation, a pro-style offense, I come in with a good understanding of not necessarily the terminology, because terminology will be different, but every basic pro-style offense is going to be the same. So that gives me an edge over whoever else who didn't have that opportunity.
"At the same time, just going to Alabama and being under that kind of culture, that winning culture, I expect nothing less out of my teammates and out of myself, and that's why I'm going to come here and help this team win a Super Bowl in any way possible."
