LeGarrette Blount figures to be New England's starting running back, with Jonas Gray the best bet for his primary backup. But it's the Shane Vereen role in this offense that really needs to be replaced, and that's a battle that will be determined in training camp.
Second-year back James White would seem to be the favorite, but Ben Volin of the Boston Globe guesses ex-Saint Travaris Cadet has the edge. And it does seem to be a guess, as is often the case when discussing the secretive Patriots.
"There’s a lot [mentally] that goes into that role," says Volin. "Right now it looks like a battle between Travaris Cadet and James White, and I think Cadet probably has the leg up. He has more experience in the NFL. He caught 38 passes in the Saints system and is really an explosive runner.
"James White is coming into his second year, so we’ll see what he can do in training camp,” Volin adds. “[White] redshirted last year after having a productive career at Wisconsin, so maybe he wasn’t picking up the offense as quickly as he could have been.”
Vereen out up over 800 total yards and 5 TDs last year, so it's a significant fantasy role. The article is well worth a read (it also mentions Tyler Gaffney as a candidate for that backup role behind Blount).
--Andy Richardson
