Patriots’ Rhamondre Stevenson Left Off ESPN’s Top Rushers List

It was clear that NFL coaches, scouts and executives didn't view Rhamondre Stevenson as a future star when they let him slip to the New England Patriots in the fourth round of the 2021 NFL Draft.

Evaluating talent is hard, so you can't blame them for that, but leaving him off a list of the league's best rushers after what he showed in his sophomore campaign? That might be unforgiveable.

The Patriots haven't fared very well in ESPN's talent rankings across each position, with Matthew Judon being their only player to make a list, while Hunter Henry and Kyle Dugger each were tabbed as honorable mentions. Stevenson didn't have better luck, failing to crack the top 10 on the running backs list published Friday.

"He's sneaky fast but not explosive," an AFC scout told ESPN. "He can run. Reminds me of Natrone Means a little bit -- big, good feet, strong, solid grind-it-out player that will wear you down."

Natrone Means? Yikes.

We've waxed poetic about Stevenson in the past, but it's hard to argue that he isn't one of the top running backs in the NFL. The 25-year-old rushed for 1,040 yards on 210 carries and caught 69 balls for 421 yards. It could be argued those were much better numbers than Dalvin Cook and Alvin Kamara, who are both older than Stevenson. Cook isn't even on a team.

There's always next year.