LeGarrette Blount was a solid running back over the course of his nine-year NFL career, but his self evaluation might be a bit inflated.
During a recent appearance on the “Pat McAfee Show,” Blount preached the importance of having an effective running back. The three-time Super Bowl champion closed his argument with a fairly hot take about two of his former teams.
“…If you got a nice running back, they think that in the next couple years there might be another nice running back like you or another nice running back like you, you know what I’m saying?” Blount said. “To this day, I don’t think the Eagles have been able to replace me. To this day, I don’t think the Patriots have been able to replace me.”
There’s no denying Blount’s three-plus-year run in New England was impressive. Here’s a rundown of each of his campaigns with the Patriots:
2013 (16 games): 153 carries, 772 rushing yards, 7 touchdowns
2014 (5 games): 60 carries, 281 rushing yards, 3 touchdowns
2015 (12 games): 165 carries, 703 rushing yards, 6 touchdowns
2016 (16 games): 299 carries, 1,161 rushing yards, 18 touchdowns
Blount obviously posted eye-popping numbers in his final season in Foxboro, but Patriots backs have fared pretty well since his departure. Dion Lewis ran for 896 yards with six touchdowns in 2017 while also adding 32 catches for 214 yards with three scores. Blount never had more than seven receptions in a single season with the Patriots.
Sony Michel racked up 931 yards with six touchdowns in 13 regular-season games as a rookie in 2018. Michel matched that TD mark over New England’s three-game playoff run which concluded with a Super Bowl LIII championship. The Georgia product played a full 16-game slate as an NFL sophomore, racking up 912 rushing yards with seven scores.
Michel since has been replaced atop New England’s RB depth chart by Damien Harris, who’s logged 561 yards with two touchdowns over eight games thus far. With five games remaining on their 2020 regular-season schedule, Harris effectively will have a shot to flirt with the 1,000-yard mark.
So yeah, we’d say Blount has been adequately replaced in New England.
