I put together the depth charts for Fantasy Index, including the list of unsigned veterans. I've wondered why there's been no news of interest regarding Lamar Miller. An unexciting name to be sure, but that hasn't kept Carlos Hyde and Peyton Barber from finding work. Well, Miller found work yesterday.
The Patriots have signed Miller to a one-year deal, seemingly crowding a perennially crowded backfield. Or maybe it's not so crowded. Sony Michel is coming off foot surgery and opened camp on the PUP list. New England seldom gives helpful timetables on injuries, but it's a hint that Michel might not be available for Week 1.
That fact had some interested in last year's third-round pick Damien Harris, and such interest is still viable. But the 29-year-old Miller is accomplished and capable enough, if healthy, that he looks a little more likely to open as the starter should Michel not be available.
Miller missed all of last season with a torn ACL, and Houston traded for David Johnson rather than bring him back. But back in 2018, Miller was a pretty productive runner for the Texans. Among running backs who started or played significant snaps (in a committee or as a third-down back) at least half the time that year, only 12 rushed for more yards per game than Miller.
| RUNNING BACK RUSHING PER GAME, 2018 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | St | Att | Run | TD |
| Ezekiel Elliott, Dall. | 15 | 20.3 | 95.6 | .60 |
| Todd Gurley, LAR | 14 | 18.3 | 89.4 | 1.57 |
| Joe Mixon, Cin. | 14 | 16.9 | 83.4 | .64 |
| Nick Chubb, Cle. | 10 | 17.6 | 82.3 | .80 |
| Chris Carson, Sea. | 14 | 17.6 | 82.2 | .64 |
| Saquon Barkley, NYG | 16 | 16.3 | 81.7 | .96 |
| Marlon Mack, Ind. | 11 | 16.8 | 79.5 | .97 |
| Phillip Lindsay, Den. | 9 | 14.6 | 76.8 | .89 |
| Kareem Hunt, K.C. | 11 | 16.5 | 74.9 | 1.27 |
| James Conner, Pitt. | 13 | 16.5 | 74.8 | 1.05 |
| Melvin Gordon, LAC | 12 | 14.6 | 73.8 | 1.22 |
| Sony Michel, N.E. | 13 | 16.1 | 71.6 | .46 |
| Lamar Miller, Hou. | 14 | 15.0 | 69.5 | .43 |
| Kerryon Johnson, Det. | 9 | 12.6 | 69.3 | .44 |
| Phillip Lindsay (total), Den. | 15 | 12.8 | 69.1 | .67 |
| Christian McCaffrey, Car. | 16 | 13.7 | 68.6 | .85 |
| Aaron Jones, G.B. | 8 | 12.6 | 67.5 | 1.00 |
| Derrick Henry, Ten. | 16 | 13.4 | 66.2 | .75 |
| Adrian Peterson, Was. | 16 | 15.7 | 65.1 | .50 |
| Doug Martin, Oak. | 10 | 14.5 | 62.4 | .40 |
| Alvin Kamara, N.O. | 15 | 12.9 | 58.9 | 1.27 |
| David Johnson, Ariz. | 16 | 16.1 | 58.8 | .65 |
| Jordan Howard, Chi. | 16 | 15.6 | 58.4 | .56 |
| Matt Breida, S.F. | 14 | 10.9 | 58.1 | .36 |
| Dalvin Cook, Min. | 11 | 12.1 | 55.9 | .36 |
| Leonard Fournette, Jac. | 8 | 16.6 | 54.9 | .75 |
| Tevin Coleman, Atl. | 14 | 10.8 | 54.7 | .57 |
| Peyton Barber, T.B. | 16 | 14.6 | 54.4 | .38 |
| Mark Ingram (C), N.O. | 12 | 11.5 | 53.8 | .58 |
| Isaiah Crowell (C), NYJ | 13 | 11.0 | 52.7 | .46 |
| Josh Adams (C), Phil. | 9 | 12.1 | 51.7 | .37 |
| Frank Gore, Mia. | 14 | 11.1 | 51.6 | .07 |
| Alex Collins, Balt. | 10 | 11.4 | 41.1 | .80 |
| Jamaal Williams, G.B. | 8 | 10.3 | 40.4 | .17 |
| Austin Ekeler (C), LAC | 11 | 6.0 | 38.6 | .45 |
| Royce Freeman (C), Den. | 14 | 9.3 | 37.2 | .36 |
| LeSean McCoy, Buff. | 14 | 11.5 | 36.7 | .21 |
| Kenyan Drake (C), Mia. | 16 | 7.5 | 33.4 | .56 |
| Wendell Smallwood (C), Phil. | 11 | 7.7 | 33.2 | .48 |
| Dion Lewis (3rd), Ten. | 16 | 9.7 | 32.3 | .13 |
| Tarik Cohen (3rd), Chi. | 16 | 6.2 | 27.8 | .54 |
| Mike Davis (C), Sea. | 13 | 6.2 | 27.3 | .15 |
| James White (3rd), N.E. | 16 | 5.9 | 26.6 | .75 |
| LeGarrette Blount (C), Det. | 16 | 9.6 | 26.1 | .31 |
| Ito Smith (C), Atl. | 12 | 7.3 | 25.8 | .33 |
| Corey Clement (C), Phil. | 11 | 6.2 | 23.5 | .21 |
| Chris Thompson (3rd), Was. | 9 | 4.8 | 19.8 | .11 |
| Nyheim Hines (3rd), Ind. | 16 | 5.3 | 19.6 | .25 |
| Jalen Richard (3rd), Oak. | 16 | 3.4 | 16.2 | .06 |
| Duke Johnson (3rd), Cle. | 16 | 2.5 | 12.6 | .23 |
| Theo Riddick (3rd), Det. | 14 | 2.9 | 12.2 | .00 |
| Giovani Bernard (3rd), Cin. | 10 | 2.9 | 8.1 | .00 |
Miller isn't much of an asset in the passing game, but that doesn't matter; James White will get all those chances. But as a runner, he could pretty productive, for both yards and touchdowns. Over the last four seasons, New England has 70 rushing scores. Only the Saints and Cowboys have more.
| TEAM RUSHING TDS, 2016-2019 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | Tot |
| New Orleans | 17 | 23 | 26 | 12 | 78 |
| Dallas | 24 | 18 | 13 | 18 | 73 |
| New England | 19 | 16 | 18 | 17 | 70 |
| Tennessee | 16 | 18 | 15 | 21 | 70 |
| Buffalo | 29 | 12 | 15 | 13 | 69 |
| LA Rams | 9 | 17 | 23 | 20 | 69 |
| Carolina | 16 | 15 | 17 | 20 | 68 |
| Baltimore | 10 | 14 | 19 | 21 | 64 |
| San Francisco | 15 | 15 | 7 | 23 | 60 |
| Kansas City | 15 | 12 | 16 | 16 | 59 |
| Green Bay | 11 | 13 | 14 | 18 | 56 |
| Indianapolis | 13 | 11 | 13 | 17 | 54 |
| Cleveland | 13 | 11 | 15 | 15 | 54 |
| Arizona | 20 | 6 | 9 | 18 | 53 |
| Philadelphia | 16 | 9 | 12 | 16 | 53 |
| Atlanta | 20 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 53 |
| Minnesota | 9 | 15 | 9 | 19 | 52 |
| Oakland | 17 | 13 | 9 | 13 | 52 |
| Pittsburgh | 13 | 12 | 16 | 7 | 48 |
| Denver | 11 | 8 | 18 | 11 | 48 |
| Washington | 17 | 10 | 12 | 9 | 48 |
| LA Chargers | 10 | 10 | 16 | 12 | 48 |
| Chicago | 10 | 13 | 16 | 8 | 47 |
| Seattle | 13 | 4 | 15 | 15 | 47 |
| Cincinnati | 17 | 6 | 13 | 9 | 45 |
| Houston | 8 | 8 | 12 | 17 | 45 |
| Tampa Bay | 8 | 8 | 11 | 15 | 42 |
| NY Jets | 10 | 13 | 11 | 6 | 40 |
| Detroit | 9 | 10 | 11 | 7 | 37 |
| Jacksonville | 8 | 18 | 7 | 3 | 36 |
| NY Giants | 6 | 6 | 13 | 11 | 36 |
| Miami | 14 | 4 | 7 | 10 | 35 |
The Patriots now have a quarterback who will take in some of those scores on his own. And they'll no doubt frustrate everyone by sticking somebody like Rex Burkhead on the field to punch in a few scores, as well.
But there's no other way to take the Miller signing but a bad omen for Michel, and a possible obstacle to Harris. Particularly in standard and TD-only formats, Miller needs to be respected as possibly a viable running back starter. Especially if Michel isn't back on the field in the next couple of weeks.
--Andy Richardson