New England Patriots: 5 undrafted free agents with 2020 roster potential

BATON ROUGE, LA - OCTOBER 14: Will Hastings #33 of the Auburn Tigers catches a pass for a touchdown during a game against the LSU Tigers at Tiger Stadium on October 14, 2017 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. LSU defeated the Auburn 27-23. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)
BATON ROUGE, LA - OCTOBER 14: Will Hastings #33 of the Auburn Tigers catches a pass for a touchdown during a game against the LSU Tigers at Tiger Stadium on October 14, 2017 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. LSU defeated the Auburn 27-23. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
5 of 6
Next
New England Patriots J.J. Taylor (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
New England Patriots J.J. Taylor (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /

The New England Patriots are thinking big with J.J. Taylor.

The New England Patriots are set at the running back position.

Seems like we say that every preseason and then once the regular season gets underway, the position becomes one of the team’s thinnest positions, usually due to injury.

More from New England Patriots

With Sony Michel, James White, Rex Burkhead, Damien Harris and Brandon Bolden all but penciled in as roster guarantees, an undrafted running back like J.J. Taylor will have a tall task in making the roster.

As a small running back, the Arizona product is a shifty pass-catching running back who fits the mold of pass running backs who have flourished in the Patriots system.

Kevin Faulk, Shane Vereen, Danny Woodhead, Dion Lewis and currently James White all come to mind as small backs who the team loves to use in the passing game.  Could 5-foot-5 J.J. Taylor become the next pass-catching running back to have a big impact in the offense?

If he is, it may not come until after the 2020 NFL season, which means the team will find a way to keep him around.

Looking at that 2018 season at Arizona in which he ran for 1434 yards and 6 touchdowns, J.J. Taylor is certainly a player to watch at the running back position.

Let’s remember, James White is getting a little older.  So, the New England Patriots may be setting themselves up for his eventual replacement.