Why Rhamondre Stevenson Has Impressed Patriots ‘Tremendously’ As Rookie
'He's a player that's gained a lot of trust and confidence'
After spending the first half of his rookie season in Bill Belichick’s doghouse, Rhamondre Stevenson has blossomed into a key cog in the New England Patriots’ offense.
Since gaining a permanent foothold in the Patriots’ lineup in Week 8, Stevenson ranks 10th in the NFL and fourth among rookies in rushing yards. Of the 15 players with at least 80 rushing attempts during that span, he’s fourth in yards per carry, trailing only Dalvin Cook, Jonathan Taylor and fellow 2021 draftee Javonte Williams.
This is a player who began his NFL career by losing a fumble and blowing a blitz pickup in his pro debut — sins that landed Stevenson on the bench for the next three weeks. He’s come a long way since then.
“I’ve been impressed by Rhamondre’s growth,” Belichick said Thursday in a video conference. “He’s very coachable. When you ask him to do something, he really tries hard to do it the way that you want him to do it, and he’s improved greatly in every area of the game.
“He’s a player that’s gained a lot of trust and confidence from his teammates, certainly from the coaching staff, really in every area. The running game, the passing game, ball security, blitz pickup, run reads, run technique, so forth, using the blockers and understanding the blocking schemes. He just gets better every day he goes out on the field.”
Stevenson, who couldn’t participate at the start of training camp after failing his conditioning test, recently admitted he wasn’t initially prepared for the daily grind of NFL life. It took time for him to acclimate, and he sat out four of the Patriots’ first seven games as a healthy scratch.
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The fourth-round draft pick’s midseason emergence has added a new dimension to the Patriots’ offense. Stevenson and Damien Harris now form a formidable 1-2 combo on early downs, with Brandon Bolden filling James White’s usual third-down role.
“(Stevenson) has been great to work with and has really shown a lot of improvement, consistency in his daily routine and being out on the field,” Belichick said. “He just continues to get better because he’s out there practicing every day and trying to take the instruction and coaching that Ivan (Fears) and Vinnie (Sunseri) and Josh (McDaniels) are giving him.”
Stevenson also has helped the Patriots withstand multiple Harris injuries. When a concussion sidelined their lead back in Week 10, Stevenson carried the ball 20 times for 100 yards and two touchdowns in a 45-7 win over the Cleveland Browns. When Harris left last week’s game with a hamstring injury, Stevenson carried the ball on nearly every play of the second half, grinding out 78 yards on 24 attempts as New England held off the Buffalo Bills 14-10.
With Harris’ injury continuing to limit him in practice this week, Stevenson could see another heavy workload this Saturday night against the Indianapolis Colts. If so, he’d have his teammates’ and coaches’ full confidence.
“I think anybody on the team would tell you that he’s improved tremendously from where he was, let’s call it in July, to where he is now,” Belichick said. “We see it on defense, we see it on offense. He’s just one of those players who’s gotten a lot better. And he was pretty good to start with, but he’s just gotten a lot better in terms of adjusting his skills and his game to the team that he’s on what we’ve asked him to do.”
