New England Patriots: Don’t sleep on Sony Michel in 2021
What did I hear about the New England Patriots backfield this off-season? Breakout season for Damien Harris! The new No. 1 back! J.J. Taylor could have a big year…Ramondre Stevenson the next LeGarrett Blount!
What about Sony Michel?
Maybe he could be a third down back. Patriots should had re-signed Rex Burkhead and traded Michel.
As they say about pro sports, the favorite player is the back-up (Cam Newton can relate right now).
It’s crazy to see how quickly fans are willing to discard Michel as if he was the modern day Laurence Maroney.
While Maroney deserved it, Michel turned in two 900-yard seasons and a memorable 2018 playoff run. But sorry, not good enough. Not for a former first round pick.
And that’s the first knock on Michel.
New England Patriots spent a first-round pick on Sony Michel
The Patriots selected Michel with the 31st overall pick of the 2018 NFL Draft. In today’s world of sports analytics, a running back is not worth drafting in the first round. And if a team does, he better be a future hall of famer.
I guess 931 yards and six touchdowns in 13 games isn’t good enough for a first round running back. What made it look worse was Michel’s Georgia teammate, Nick Chubb, was a second round selection and had a better season than Michel.
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And since then, Chubb has clearly been the better back between the two. So it will always be, “The Patriots should had drafted Chubb instead of Michel.”
But to view Sony as a scrub is a mistake. Michel averaged 4.5 yards in his rookie year and much of that was done when the coaching staff decided to make the run game the offense’s primary weapon despite having Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski and Julian Edelman on the team.
And during the playoffs, Michel averaged 112 yards per game and two touchdowns against the Chargers, Chiefs and Rams defenses.
Yet, Harris is credited with a “breakout” season after rushing for 691 yards. That’s it? Maroney (745 yards) had better “breakout” season. But hey, Harris was a 2019 third round selection. He makes a good underdog story.
When the Patriots selected Harris, I envisioned the return of the two-back offense that New England used successfully with the Corey Dillion/Maroney, BenJarvus Green-Ellis/Ridley and Ridley/Blount tandems. While Michel/Harris have yet to trample the league, with the Patriots’ offensive line leading the way, both are positioned to have big years in 2021, health permitting.
But if Harris gets hurt in 2021, the run game won’t lose a step with Michel as the workhorse.
All this talk about, “Harris is the more physical back.” Well in 2020 Michel had 285 yards after contact compared to Harris’ 262. Michel also averaged 3.6 yards after contact to Harris’ 1.9.
“But Harris broke more tackles!” Right. 12 to 9. It took Harris 137 carries to Michel’s 79. Since Michel isn’t as “bad” as some think, imagine what they could do if they were both healthy for the season.
Unfortunately, this could be the only season we get to see a Michel/Harris backfield. New England didn’t extend Michel’s rookie contract to a fifth season, so he will be a free agent after the season. And the Patriots seemingly drafted Michel’s replacement in Stevenson.
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And that’s too bad. Michel is a 1,000-yard back, if given the chance. He may never achieve gold jacket status, but he’s a solid back that will produce when healthy. And if he has a big 2021, Michel may price himself out of New England’s value for the position.
Hopefully we see it for 17 games this year. It might be the last 17 games we see of Michel in a Patriots’ uniform.