The New England Patriots made the head-scratching decision not to sign a high-profile free-agent running back or select a player at the position in the 2016 NFL Draft. So, organized team activities, minicamp and training camp will serve as an open competition with the running backs brought in and brought back by the Patriots in 2016.
Here’s the Patriots’ current group of backs: Dion Lewis, LeGarrette Blount, Brandon Bolden, James White, Donald Brown, Tyler Gaffney, Joey Iosefa and D.J. Foster. Only Brown and Foster are new in 2016 among that group.
Lewis, White, Brown and Foster are undersized “sub” backs, while Blount, Bolden, Gaffney and Iosefa are “big backs.” The Patriots also have fullback James Develin returning from a broken leg.
Lewis is the lone lock on the roster, though Blount is as  to a lock without actually being one. Bolden has a very, very good shot at a roster spot as a reserve/core special-teamer, and White, Brown, Foster, Gaffney and Iosefa are battling for what might only be one slot. There could be two spots available if Lewis, coming off of a torn ACL, begins the season on the PUP list.
White probably has the best shot at making the roster out of that group of five. He became the Patriots’ primary third-down back when Lewis went down last season and notched 40 receptions for 410 yards with four touchdowns through the air. He carried the ball 22 times for just 56 yards with two touchdowns. His lack of ball-carrying prowess makes the Patriots’ offense very predictable when he’s on the field.
Brown is better at running the football, but he’s not as versatile as a receiver and has never come close to recording 400 yards through the air in a single season. He caught eight passes for 88 yards and carried the ball 59 times for 229 yards with one touchdown in 2015. He’d make the Patriots’ offense less predictable when on the field, but he wouldn’t be as much of a threat split out at receiver.
The Patriots signed Foster as an undrafted free agent out of Arizona State this month. He has a solid chance of leap-frogging White and Brown as a backup sub back. He began his college career at running back before moving to wide receiver as a senior. He carried the ball 444 times for 2,355 yards with 18 touchdowns and caught 222 passes for 2,458 yards with 14 touchdowns in four seasons. He fumbled the ball just four times in college.
If Foster can prove he’s better between the tackles than White, he might have the necessary versatility to back up Lewis.
I still have faith in Gaffney’s upside, but it’s understandable if you’ve lost hope. A sixth-round pick of the Carolina Panthers in 2014, Gaffney tore his meniscus, was waived and claimed by the Patriots. He spent all of his rookie season on injured reserve, was back at Patriots camp last year before suffering another season-ending knee injury. He’s back for his third season without even playing in a preseason snap yet.
Gaffney is a big back at 6 feet, 220 pounds, and he has some versatility, catching 32 passes for 264 yards with four touchdowns in college. He carried the ball 486 times for 2,500 yards with 33 scores in four seasons at Stanford.
Iosefa possesses a different kind of versatility, because he can also play fullback. He broke out for 14 carries for 51 yards in Week 14 of the 2015 season then was barely heard from again after the Patriots signed Steven Jackson. Iosefa likely would have to beat out Develin, who offers more as a pass-catcher, to make the roster.
The Patriots could still elect to sign another veteran free agent to round out their running back corps, but if they stick with the current group, it could come down to the final preseason game to decide the fourth back on the roster. Lewis can be the primary sub back, Blount is the prototypical “big back” and Bolden can play either role in a pinch. So, the Patriots have the flexibility to carry a pass-catcher or between-the-tackles runner as a fourth option.
Thumbnail photo via Kevin Hoffman/USA TODAY Sports Images
