Patriots Select RB Sony Michel 31st Overall

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6oz9tQsdevc

The days of the running back position being a free agency afterthought are over as the Patriots selected Georgia running back Sony Michel 31st overall, the first time they’ve selected a running back since James White in 2014 and the first time they’ve taken one in the first round since 2006 with Laurence Maroney.

Michel is a one-cut, no-nonsense runner who is explosive, along with being a two-time captain. But most impressive is that he understands pass protection and that should get him on the field immediately. He brings the kind of home run hitting ability the Patriots have lacked from their backfield. He’s not the elusive Dion Lewis or the hulking LeGarrette Blount, he’s a down-your-throat slasher who will get every yard that’s there and more and that’s why picking him feels like a return to the roots of the Patriots offense.

Michel is a total package and screams Patriots which frustrates me even more because I was lulled to sleep on running backs in recent years and didn’t include him on my big board despite the obvious traits that he fit. But just like that, the Pats zag once again and add an exciting piece who could help transform the offense.

The Patriots have been content in recent seasons to rotate through veteran running backs on short-term deals, with White being the only back they truly invested in since Kevin Faulk. Otherwise, it’s been a long road of guys who were here briefly that we could never quite get attached to. All that changes with Michel who could be here for five years and should be a key cog in the Brady transition.

We’ve always wanted the Pats to swing for the fences with a running back, to give Brady the kind of explosive player who could take over a game and make the aging quarterback’s life easier and that’s just what they grabbed in Michel. He won’t have to carry the entire load, with Rex Burkhead and Jeremy Hill already under contract and ready to compete, but he will give the position the most exciting charge of youth that it’s had in over a decade.