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It came down nearly to the wire but Myles Gaskin was taken in the NFL Draft by the Miami Dolphins in the 7th round with the 234th overall pick. The last Husky running back who was drafted also got selected in the 7th round; Dwayne Washington by the Detroit Lions in 2016.
Welcome to Miami, @MylesGAS! #FinsUp x @NFLDraft pic.twitter.com/7x8NrHhb2T
— Miami Dolphins (@MiamiDolphins) April 27, 2019
Gaskin set almost every school record possible as a 4-year starter at the University of Washington. He rushed at least 1,250 yards in all 4 of his seasons and scored a combined 62 rushing and receiving touchdowns. His calling cards were his vision and patience rather than elite athleticism which explains why one of the most productive running backs in NFL history lasted until the 7th round. Also, the value of running backs has been greatly diminished with the success of a number of players either drafted late or undrafted entirely. That bodes well for Gaskin who could easily become a starter if the opportunity opens up for him.
There will certainly be competition in Miami but there’s no entrenched starter there at running back. Kenyan Drake and Frank Gore split time last season but the Dolphins showed great reluctance to make Drake the featured back. They also drafted Kalen Ballage from Arizona State last season but he saw almost no action after being benched for much of the season. Regardless of who wins the job, the Dolphins are in the middle of a rebuilding project so you can expect they won’t be in the lead and thus running out the clock with their backs very often.