Jeremy Hill is sitting out there in my dynasty league, and I'm mildly intrigued. He's been pretty awful the last few years, averaging 3.1 to 3.8 yards per attempt three years in a row. But in two of those seasons he scored 9 and 11 TDs, and he could find himself in position to have another such season with New England.
As we've noted in the past, while the Patriots are known for Tom Brady and the passing game, they've long been one of the league's more productive running teams. Especially in terms of touchdowns. Over the past decade, they've scored 183 rushing touchdowns. That's 7 TDs more than 2nd-place Carolina, and 22 more than every other team. Cincinnati, with Hill the main runner for four of those seasons, has been a bottom-1o team in that regard, with 118; under 12 per year.
| TEAM RUSHING TOUCHDOWNS, 2008-2017 | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | Total |
| New England | 21 | 19 | 19 | 18 | 25 | 19 | 13 | 14 | 19 | 16 | 183 |
| Carolina | 30 | 18 | 7 | 26 | 21 | 14 | 10 | 19 | 16 | 15 | 176 |
| Minnesota | 15 | 19 | 16 | 18 | 16 | 23 | 12 | 18 | 9 | 15 | 161 |
| New Orleans | 20 | 21 | 9 | 16 | 10 | 10 | 16 | 16 | 17 | 23 | 158 |
| Philadelphia | 15 | 14 | 18 | 20 | 10 | 19 | 16 | 15 | 16 | 9 | 152 |
| Atlanta | 23 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 13 | 20 | 12 | 145 |
| Baltimore | 20 | 22 | 11 | 15 | 17 | 7 | 16 | 8 | 10 | 14 | 140 |
| Tennessee | 24 | 19 | 13 | 8 | 10 | 16 | 6 | 10 | 16 | 18 | 140 |
| NY Jets | 20 | 21 | 14 | 14 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 13 | 138 |
| Buffalo | 16 | 6 | 6 | 12 | 12 | 15 | 7 | 19 | 29 | 12 | 134 |
| Houston | 16 | 13 | 20 | 18 | 19 | 7 | 12 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 128 |
| San Francisco | 10 | 12 | 10 | 14 | 17 | 18 | 10 | 7 | 15 | 15 | 128 |
| Dallas | 12 | 14 | 10 | 5 | 8 | 12 | 16 | 8 | 24 | 18 | 127 |
| Green Bay | 11 | 20 | 11 | 12 | 9 | 17 | 14 | 8 | 11 | 13 | 126 |
| NY Giants | 19 | 14 | 17 | 17 | 18 | 11 | 13 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 126 |
| Kansas City | 9 | 8 | 13 | 5 | 9 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 15 | 12 | 125 |
| Washington | 12 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 22 | 14 | 15 | 9 | 17 | 10 | 124 |
| Denver | 15 | 9 | 13 | 11 | 12 | 16 | 15 | 13 | 11 | 8 | 123 |
| Miami | 18 | 22 | 8 | 11 | 15 | 8 | 12 | 11 | 14 | 4 | 123 |
| Pittsburgh | 16 | 10 | 15 | 13 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 16 | 13 | 12 | 122 |
| Seattle | 10 | 7 | 13 | 15 | 16 | 14 | 20 | 10 | 13 | 4 | 122 |
| Arizona | 14 | 16 | 9 | 12 | 10 | 12 | 6 | 16 | 20 | 6 | 121 |
| Cincinnati | 6 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 11 | 14 | 19 | 18 | 17 | 6 | 118 |
| Indianapolis | 13 | 16 | 13 | 8 | 11 | 15 | 9 | 6 | 13 | 11 | 115 |
| Oakland | 9 | 7 | 19 | 16 | 4 | 16 | 4 | 7 | 17 | 13 | 112 |
| Jacksonville | 17 | 19 | 14 | 9 | 5 | 7 | 9 | 5 | 8 | 18 | 111 |
| Chicago | 15 | 6 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 13 | 8 | 13 | 10 | 13 | 109 |
| Detroit | 10 | 9 | 11 | 9 | 17 | 15 | 11 | 7 | 9 | 10 | 108 |
| LA Chargers | 13 | 17 | 18 | 16 | 4 | 9 | 6 | 4 | 10 | 10 | 107 |
| LA Rams | 8 | 4 | 9 | 7 | 5 | 10 | 11 | 16 | 9 | 17 | 96 |
| Cleveland | 6 | 10 | 13 | 4 | 12 | 4 | 17 | 5 | 13 | 11 | 95 |
| Tampa Bay | 13 | 5 | 9 | 9 | 13 | 6 | 7 | 12 | 8 | 8 | 90 |
The problem with New England is they have plenty of other running backs. Rex Burkhead is the favorite to be the main runner, they drafted Sony Michel in the first round, plus the team still has passing downs back James White and (for now) Mike Gillislee. Gillislee, of course, was supposed to be the beneficiary of all those rushing touchdown opportunities a year ago. He flopped in that role, and ended up being a wasted fantasy pick.
But Hill and his 29 career rushing touchdowns (all in his first three seasons; he had none last year, with Joe Mixon getting the most chances) is a strong candidate for that work, and he's got more of a track record than Gillislee. Burkhead should be the primary runner, White the passing-downs back, and maybe they bring Michel along quickly. But there's an opportunity for Hill to be the main back near the goal line, maybe an 8-10 TD player again.
--Andy Richardson