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Patriots Positional Preview: Running Backs

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Today we’re taking a look at the Patriots’ running back corps, one of the most intriguing positions on the roster.

With the departure of LeGarrette Blount, who set a team record with 18 rushing touchdowns, things will look a little different in 2017, but the approach should remain the same. The biggest question is of course, who takes those short yardage carries, especially on the goalline where 11 of Blount’s TDs came from just one yard out.

The favorite to be the early down/early game pounder is Mike Gillislee, a restricted free agent the Pats signed away from the Bills and whose one-cut, hard running style is a perfect fit for what the Pats need. But free agent Rex Burkhead, who saw just 13 carries in his first three seasons with the Bengals before getting his shot in 2016 and putting up 4.6 yards-per-attempt, has size and versatility to take some of those carries as well.

As Pro Football Talk pointed out, Gillislee and Burkhead are football analytics all-stars.

Analytics website FootballOutsiders.com ranked Gillislee as the most efficient running back in the NFL last year, and Burkhead as No. 2. Analytics website NumberFire also had Gillislee first and Burkhead second. Analyst Warren Sharp’s metrics had Gillislee first and Burkhead second in success rate, and Burkhead first and Gillislee second in the fewest “missed yards per attempt,” or how close they came to being successful on the plays that weren’t quite good enough to quality as successful.

No matter how the replacing of Blount shakes out, the Patriots have the entire spectrum covered at running back. James White put up an MVP-caliber performance in the Super Bowl, while Dion Lewis, now a full year removed from tearing his ACL, could return to the electric explosion he showed prominently in early 2015.

With battering ram James Devlin leading the way, and a couple young potential practice squad members, there’s nothing this group lacks.

Let’s take a closer look at each.

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Patriots Add Gillislee, New-Look Backfield Complete?

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The Bills declined to match the Patriots’ two-year, $6.4 offer they signed running back Mike Gillislee on Monday, officially making Gillislee the newest Patriot and likely putting an end to LeGarrette Blount‘s time in New England.

Along with free agent signee Rex Burkhead, the Patriots have now added two running backs who should both contribute, along with James White and Dion Lewis. The entire spectrum of possibilities is now covered in the backfield, giving the Patriots multiple options to attack defenses with. There’s the pure pass catching threat that is White (though they’re no longer afraid to hand it off to him in short yardage situations as we saw multiple times in the Super Bowl), the elusive Lewis who will now be a full year removed from ACL surgery, the balanced run/pass ability of Burkhead (along with his four-down contributions) and the pure downhill running of Gillislee.

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Pats Posits: Draft Week is Here!

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Maybe it’s just me, but this draft season feels even more anticlimactic than last year’s. I guess that shouldn’t be that much of a surprise, since at least the Pats had a second-round pick last year and now they’re not scheduled to pick until the third round.

But of course if you know the Patriots, you know things could change quickly and there’s some intriguing assets they could decide to move. Before you know it the Pats could be picking somewhere in the first round.

The signs right now seem to be pointing toward the team hanging on to both Malcolm Butler and Jimmy Garoppolo. But again, this is peak disinformation time in the NFL. There are just as many false rumors started to influence the draft as there are real ones.

Let’s take a deep dive into some of the Pats issues as we countdown to Thursday night. It might be a bit less fun if the Pats don’t pick until the third round, but one thing that’s for sure is that a week from now they’ll have added a bunch of new talent, both drafted and undrafted, that will help the 2017 squad.

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Patriots Sign RFA Mike Gillislee to Offer Sheet

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According to multiple reports the Patriots signed Bills restricted free agent Mike Gillislee to an offer sheet, reportedly in the neighborhood of two years, $6.4 million. The Bills now have five days to match the offer or let Gillislee walk to New England, the second Bills RFA to do so in the last two seasons (Chris Hogan).

The writing is definitely on the wall for LeGarrette Blount now. He’s reportedly had an offer on the table since the start of free agency and is still hoping for more money. Gillislee would have a similar early down, short yardage role that Blount has held down for the better part of four seasons.

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Patriots Ready to Move On From Blount?

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After an extended quiet period the Patriots were back in the news with a couple visits this morning, bringing in Buffalo RFA Mike Gillislee and Miami RFA Damien Williams.


Yes, it’s always fun when the Pats get ready to raid their AFC East rivals, but you’d think at this point the Bills and Dolphins would do their best to match any offer the Patriots make, except that, oh yeah, the Patriots have more cap flexibility and can pretty much do what they want.

Of the two, Gillislee is the more appealing to me and as someone who’s ready to move on from LeGarrette Blount, I’d welcome the addition. It was reported earlier this week that Blount has had a contract sitting on the table from the Patriots since the start of free agency and is still looking for more money. The fact that he hasn’t gotten a better offer elsewhere, coming off a record-setting campaign for the Pats, says volumes.

Blount certainly has his moments, but his inconsistency in big games leaves me wondering if it’s more the overall Patriots scheme that is most responsible for his best successes, which often seemed to come against the weakest teams. Look at his playoff numbers below and the trend is pretty clear.

Playoffs Rushing & Receiving Table
Game Game Rush Rush Rush Rush Rush Rush
Year Age G GS Rush Yds TD Lng Y/A Y/G
2013 27 2 1 29 172 4 73 5.9 86.0
2014 28 3 0 47 189 3 22 4.0 63.0
2016 30 3 1 35 109 1 18 3.1 36.3
Care Care 8 2 111 470 8 73 4.2 58.8
Provided by Pro-Football-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 4/13/2017.

Williams seems more or less just a guy. He’s never topped 36 carries in a season but has had over 20 catches in each of his first three years and can return kicks. Would he suddenly take off with New England? I’m more interested in Rex Burkhead at this point.

But Gillislee is more intriguing. Belichick had this to say about him last season:

“Some of his time has been limited because of McCoy, who has had such an explosive season, but when he’s had a chance to play he’s done a good job,” said Belichick. “He had a big run against San Francisco, like a 44-yard touchdown. A strong, downhill runner, one cut guy, that’s hard to tackle. Good complementary player to McCoy. McCoy is exceptional, but Gillislee is a good back too.”

Gillislee averaged 5.7 yards-per-attempt in each of the last two seasons. He’s just the kind of under-the-radar player that the Patriots are famous for plucking and turning into a key contributor. Not that that is what they need from him. He’d join three backs who are already pretty balanced overall. It seems clear the Patriots want a deep backfield that can do just about anything. Burkhead has some power, but Gillislee would bring even more explosiveness.