Why Patriots should decline options on Isaiah Wynn and Sony Michel

Why Patriots should not pick up option on Sony Michel

Sony Michel is an ok NFL back but he too has had injury issues throughout his New England career. He’s played only 28 of 48 games as a Patriot. Better than Wynn’s tally but not good enough.

Michel’s 4.3 yards per carry is decent but he lacks explosiveness. He’s really not much of a long threat and like all of the New England backs, he’s not decisive or productive in short-yardage.

The entire stable of backs is/was wracked with injuries. The team couldn’t count on them from game to game. It has to be frustrating for the coaches and the quarterback, whoever he is.

Cam Newton got little help from his backs last season with Damien Harris being the best of the bunch. Newton was the best back scoring 11 touchdowns on the ground.

Yet, Harris, a third-round pick couldn’t even break into the team his rookie year.

Last season Harris logged a respectable 5.0 yards per carry. Very nice. However, he only played 10 games. That’s not going to get it done.

New England seems to be locked into backs in the 210-215 pound range. They are tweeners. Neither big enough nor fast enough. It’s a poor first strategy to employ on running backs.

They are too small to be effective in short yardage. And, they are not explosive enough to be a long threat on a carry. The end result is little game-planning for them by opposing defenses.

Michel fits that size parameter. He has neither breakaway speed nor dominating power. New England should go away from that model. What to do? Draft big and draft fast. Not tweeners.

In sum, Michael’s option shouldn’t be picked up either. The $15 million should be utilized in 2022 for better or at least more reliable players.