Jay Ajayi: Week 13 Film Breakdown

I loved the trade for Jay Ajayi. Whereas some people thought he was a little overrated and just a one-year wonder, I saw a really good talent that was stuck on a bad team. My expectations for him are pretty high, not only for this season but for the next few as well.

Each week I will be examining each of his snaps and will break down all of the ones I find significant. I’ll be looking at not only his runs but how he does in the passing game as a receiver and a blocker as well.

Side note: I’m trying something different with the breakdowns this week. Instead of having numerous pictures following each piece of analysis, I’m going to provide a 2nd video of the same play but in slow-motion and with pauses at necessary points.

Week 13 @ Seattle Seahawks

For the first time since joining the team, Jay Ajayi led all Eagles RBs in snaps (31, 41.3%) against the Seahawks. Also, we saw Ajayi’s role expand as he was split out as a wide receiver at one point in the game.

2nd Quarter, 13:20 mark, 1st & 10 from Phi 47

Ajayi’s first half was impressive, and this run was my favorite play of the game from him. I’ve said in previous weeks how much I love Ajayi’s footwork and agility for being a bigger back, and that was on full display here. It’s an inside zone run with Zach Ertz (#86) coming down to block the backside defender. Seahawks’ defensive end Michael Bennett (#72) is able to gain inside leverage on Lane Johnson (#65), but Ajayi makes a quick cut to avoid the tackle. As he approaches the line of scrimmage, he sees a running lane open up to the left, so he makes another quick cut that way. In doing so, he slips the diving tackle attempt of linebacker KJ Wright (#50), who was able to get around Ertz’ block. Ajayi finishes the run with power by lowering his shoulder and falling forward for a few extra yards.

Slow Motion

2nd Quarter, 11: 24 mark, 2nd & 10 from Sea 26

The biggest takeaway from this loss was missed opportunities, and this was one of them for Ajayi. This play is an outside zone run that is blocked beautifully. Ajayi sees the running lane open between Stefan Wisniewski (#61) and Jason Kelce (#62). He hits it hard, anticipating a huge gain with a good number of the Seattle’s defenders anticipating play action and only a linebacker and a high safety upfield to challenge him. However, he ends up tripping over Kelce’s leg and falls down for only a 3 yard gain.

Slow Motion

2nd Quarter, 2:18 mark, 2nd & 11 from Phi 34

Another really good run by Ajayi here. The Eagles are in 12 personnel with a heavy set formation on the left side. Ajayi takes the run to the strong side and shows some excellent patience. At first there’s no clear running lane as the Seahawks have everything sealed up. But he continues outside and eventually sees daylight between Hal Vaitai (#72) and Wisniewski. Defensive tackle Jarran Reed (#90) gets a hand on him but he easily sheds it and gives Bobby Wagner (#54) a stiff arm. Ajayi gets tackled by Earl Thomas (#29), but not before gaining 10 yards.

Slow Motion

3rd Quarter, 12:12 mark, 2nd & 12 from Sea 40

The second half is where things start to go downhill a bit for Ajayi. This was a screen play with Wisniewski and Kelce leaking out as his lead blockers, similar to the one from last week. Ajayi just simply drops the easy catch, which is inexcusable. That’s two bad drops in two straight games for him. He’s shown to have natural hands when it comes to making the catch, but focus drops just can’t happen.

3rd Quarter, 5:07 mark, 1st & 10 from Sea 43

This is the play that I referenced in the beginning of this post where Ajayi is split out as a wide receiver. He lines up as the X receiver in this formation (top of the screen; look for the red arrow). Cornerback Shaquill Griffin (#26) is playing off zone coverage in the Cover 3. As Griffin peels back to prevent the deep route, Ajayi runs a 5 yard curl and Wentz hits him with the pass. He turns around and gains an extra 6 yards before getting pushed out of bounds. It was a simple enough route, executed as anticipated. I said weeks ago that the Eagles’ coaches could end up using Ajayi as a wide receiver more than Miami’s did, and this could be a sign of things to come.

3rd Quarter, 0:10 mark, 2nd & 7 from Phi 22

This is probably Ajayi’s biggest mistake of the game. Ajayi stays in to help with pass protection, but he makes the wrong read and decides to double on Bennett, who twisted to the inside. The nickel cornerback Justin Coleman (#28) blitzes off the weak side edge and is practically untouched as he gets the sack on Wentz. Ajayi has shown very good technique when it comes to pass protection, but his issues have always been mental as he sometimes doesn’t pick up the correct defender.

Stats: 9 carries, 35 yards rushing, 3 catches, 11 yards receiving

Overall Grade: C+

Originally, I had thought Ajayi’s second half was worse than it was, but a couple of Ajayi's runs that went for minimal gains or a loss of yards were because of breakdowns in run blocking by the offensive line. Although it still wasn’t a great performance overall, there were many good signs to take from it going forward. Him playing more snaps than Blount and Clement is significant. In addition to him being the better talent, he’s also more reliable in pass protection than those two, and that was needed against the Seahawks’ front 4 which was getting penetration and causing problems consistently. Ajayi is earning more playing time as he gets more comfortable in the offense. I highly anticipate him to be used heavily next week against the Rams weak run defense.