Kenyan Drake and Frank Gore have company in Miami.
The Dolphins on Saturday used their fourth-round pick (No. 131 overall) on running back Kalen Ballage out of Arizona State.
NFL Network draft guru Mike Mayock called Ballage a 225-pound "finesse back," which checks out as a highly unusual combination at the pro level. "This is a big, great-looking athlete," Mayock said of the former Sun Devils committee back.
"Everybody will have question marks on his ability to play the physical game of football," one scout told Bob McGinn of BobMcGinnFootball.com. "But he's got the size and the speed combination that will make him be a great asset to any organization."
NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah pointed to Ballage as having "Tevin Coleman-type juice," in reference to the dangerously fast Falcons back.
Ballage ran a time of 4.46 seconds in the 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine and showed off legitimate receiving skills at the Senior Bowl. In Miami, he'll join a backfield headlined by Drake and Gore ahead of Senorise Perry and Brandon Radcliff.
"He's talented," another scout told McGinn. "Really good route runner. He has a chance to be dynamic. But he's got to prove it over the long haul that he can do it day in and day out from the standpoint of being tough."
