Patriots release Lamar Miller, and their backfield begins to come into focus Or does it? I wonder if Bill Belichick has one more notable running back move left in him this season.
As it stands, the Patriots should rely on some combination of Sony Michel and Damien Harris to handle the bulk of the carries. Michel has led them in rushing the last two years. Harris hardly played as a rookie but got most of the reps during training camp (with Michel out with a foot injury). Realistically, either one of these guys could lead the team in rushing.
They’ve got James White, who’ll do his thing, playing in spread formations and catching a bunch of passes. And they’ve still got Rex Burkhead, who’s their most versatile back – capable of filling in for White, and also capable of stepping into a featured-type role at times.
There’s also a chance that the Patriots at some point make another move. There’s been some speculation that they could sign Adrian Peterson. I’m not saying that’s particularly likely. They’re probably fine with what they have. Presumably, if they were big Peterson fans, they probably would have signed him at some point in the past, when he was sitting there available.
But Bill Belichick likes veteran runners, and he’s got a long track record of picking up guys who’ve been discarded by other teams.
In the last 20 years, the Patriots have had 20 500-yard runners. Have of those have been authored by backs at least 29 years old. And 12 of those 20 backs have been players who previously played for other teams.
We’ll see how the young guys play. Maybe they can get Harris going. But if they’re not giving Belichick quite what he wants, it wouldn’t surprise me if they signed Peterson in September, bringing him in with the hopes of him being another LeGarrette Blount.
As for right now, I’m not interested in carrying Peterson on a fantasy roster – would have him slightly below Devonta Freeman on my list of running backs. As for Miller (pictured), I would put him well below both of those guys.
| BELICHICK'S 500-YARD RUSHERS (last 20 yrs) | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Player | Age | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | PPR | Rk |
| 2004 | • Corey Dillon | 30 | 345 | 1,635 | 4.7 | 12 | 268.8 | 8 |
| 2016 | • LeGarrette Blount | 30 | 299 | 1,161 | 3.9 | 18 | 234.9 | 9 |
| 2001 | • Antowain Smith | 29 | 287 | 1,157 | 4.0 | 12 | 231.9 | 10 |
| 2010 | BenJarvus Green-Ellis | 25 | 229 | 1,008 | 4.4 | 13 | 199.3 | 19 |
| 2002 | • Antowain Smith | 30 | 252 | 982 | 3.9 | 6 | 203.5 | 24 |
| 2017 | • Dion Lewis | 27 | 180 | 896 | 5.0 | 6 | 203.0 | 13 |
| 2007 | Laurence Maroney | 22 | 185 | 835 | 4.5 | 6 | 137.1 | 33 |
| 2006 | • Corey Dillon | 32 | 199 | 812 | 4.1 | 13 | 188.9 | 24 |
| 2013 | • LeGarrette Blount | 27 | 153 | 772 | 5.1 | 7 | 125.0 | 39 |
| 2009 | Laurence Maroney | 24 | 194 | 757 | 3.9 | 9 | 153.6 | 35 |
| 2006 | Laurence Maroney | 21 | 175 | 745 | 4.3 | 6 | 157.9 | 27 |
| 2005 | • Corey Dillon | 31 | 209 | 733 | 3.5 | 12 | 191.4 | 17 |
| 2008 | • Sammy Morris | 31 | 156 | 727 | 4.7 | 7 | 147.8 | 36 |
| 2015 | • LeGarrette Blount | 29 | 165 | 703 | 4.3 | 6 | 122.6 | 40 |
| 2011 | BenJarvus Green-Ellis | 26 | 181 | 667 | 3.7 | 11 | 157.6 | 28 |
| 2003 | • Antowain Smith | 31 | 182 | 642 | 3.5 | 3 | 105.4 | 41 |
| 2003 | Kevin Faulk | 27 | 178 | 638 | 3.6 | 0 | 155.8 | 29 |
| 2000 | Kevin Faulk | 24 | 164 | 570 | 3.5 | 4 | 186.5 | 27 |
| 2014 | • LeGarrette Blount | 28 | 125 | 547 | 4.4 | 5 | 100.1 | 45 |
| 2008 | Kevin Faulk | 32 | 83 | 507 | 6.1 | 3 | 193.2 | 21 |
In the table, the yards and touchdowns show rushing production only. The PPR points includes receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns (which aren’t listed). The “Rk” shows where the player ranked statistically among running backs that year.
—Ian Allan