New England Patriots 2021 offensive playbook: Who stays, who goes
Examining the New England Patriots running backs depth chart
As noted above, New England’s most productive and best running back in 2020 was Damien Harris who led the backs with 691 yards in 10 games and a 5.0-yard average.
Those are decent statistics. Harris is an Alabama product who hardly saw the field in 2019 but got an opportunity in 2020 and took full advantage of it. He’s a downfield runner with some get-go and showed promise. If he can stay healthy, he can and should be part of New England’s rotational backfield next season.
But in sum, all Patriots’ running backs only had eight total rushing touchdowns. That’s four fewer than Newton, the team’s best runner who for much of the time was running for his life. That tells the story in a nutshell. New England’s backs just aren’t good enough.
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James White is an exception but he’s more of a receiving than running threat. Yet White had a down season himself with only 45 catches this year. White and Harris are two keepers. Harris if he can stay healthy is a solid rotational back. White entering his age 29 season is still an excellent receiver.
Sony Michel and Rex Burkhead are the two other rotational backs for New England. Michel looked OK when he was on the field but that’s not often enough. Burkhead is a gamer but he’s too often on the shelf, as well.
It’s time to cut ties with both. Both have had their moments, but not enough of them. They are too often out with injuries and Michel should be traded if possible, saving about $750,000 on the cap and Burkhead is a free agent. The team should also keep J.J. Taylor the undrafted free agent from Arizona on the team. He looked good when he played but played sparingly. Another head-scratcher among many by the New England coaching staff.
This is again the time to bang the drum about the Patriots getting a big back to replace the production that they received from Legarrette Blount in the past. His importance to the team and the importance generally of a big back has been highlighted previously.
It’s time to spend a draft pick or two, later on, to bring in a big back or two who can take up the short-yardage role to extend a drive or to plow ahead for a yard or two to score a touchdown. That role shouldn’t be left to the quarterback.
A free agent and a draft pick or two needs to be invested here on size. The hole here has been evident now for four years. It needs to finally be plugged this offseason.
White, Harris, and Taylor stay. Michel and Burkhead go.
Side note: Fullbacks.
New England has an emerging blocking fullback and maybe more in Jakob Johnson. He’s beginning to blossom as a lead blocker and may be able to catch a few passes. He should stay. T
he other possibility is Danny Vitale who opted out of the season due to coronavirus. This was a nice signing as Vitale is far better than his previous stats would dictate. Yet, cutting Vitale would save about $1.2M on the cap. He may be worth keeping around in camp to see if he delivers. It’s a toss-up here for him though, since the $1.2M could be invested elsewhere. A not so easy choice there.
Johnson stays, Vitale maybe stays.