FOXBORO, Mass. — Bill Belichick served as the closer when D.J. Foster was forced to quickly decide where to sign as a rookie free agent after the 2016 NFL Draft.
Foster didn’t hear his name called in the 253 selections of the 2016 draft, but he was highly sought after as a priority free agent, receiving calls from the Patriots, Arizona Cardinals and Houston Texans. Then, Belichick called.
“It was crazy for me,” Foster said Wednesday at Gillette Stadium. “I had about five minutes. I had the chance to talk to Coach Belichick. This organization speaks for itself. For a guy my age, growing up, hearing about them, the organization, the New England Patriots. I talked to them, and I just loved his message to me. I was excited to join.”
Foster is a classic Patriot, showing versatility as both a running back and wide receiver during his college career at Arizona State. He carried the ball 194 times for 1,081 yards with nine touchdowns and added 62 receptions for 688 yards with three touchdowns as a junior starting running back. As a senior, he moved to receiver and notched 59 catches for 584 yards with three touchdowns and 55 carries for 280 yards with one touchdown.
He’s wearing No. 27 and listed as a running back early in his Patriots career, but the team hasn’t discussed his future role.
“We haven’t really talked about that,” Foster said. “That’s up to Coach Belichick. That’s something you’ll have to have to ask him. Right now, I’m working with (Patriots running backs coach Ivan Fears) and the running back group. I’m just learning every day, learning about the organization, the culture of this organization and just learning my teammates.”
Foster certainly has the requisite athleticism to play either third-down back or slot receiver. Though listed on the Patriots’ roster at 6 feet, 195 pounds, he ran a 6.75-second three-cone with a 4.07-second short shuttle, 9-foot, 9-inch broad jump and put up 14 bench press reps of 225 pounds at the NFL Scouting Combine where he measured in at 5-foot-10, 193 pounds. He improved his 40-yard dash from 4.57 seconds at the combine to 4.46 seconds with a 1.50-second 10-yard split and 36-inch vertical leap at his pro day in March.
Though it seems Foster will be moving back to running back after a year at receiver, he thinks 2015 was beneficial for him.
“Moving to wide receiver helped me kind of broaden my view and perspective of the game,” Foster said. “I learned a lot at receiver. I learned a lot being in the receiver room, understanding defenses better as a receiver, and it overall helps me as a running back. They correlate with each other, and I definitely think it benefited me in the long run.”
One aspect that might contribute to the Patriots’ decision to make Foster a running back rather than a wide receiver is his dependability in both roles. He fumbled just four times on 667 career touches during his college career, and he didn’t fumble once as a senior. He dropped eight passes on 114 targets, however, in 2015.
Thumbnail photo via Thumbnail photo via Doug Kyed/NESN
