How Ezekiel Elliott Signing Alters Patriots’ Projected Depth Chart

New England’s offense will have a different look when the Patriots arrive in Green Bay for their first round of joint practices.

Bill Belichick’s squad made a major addition to its running back room Monday by signing former Dallas Cowboys star Ezekiel Elliott. Elliott, whose arrival addressed one of the team’s most glaring roster needs, reportedly is expected to participate when the Patriots and Packers take the field together on Wednesday.

Ahead of that anticipated debut, here’s a breakdown of what Elliott’s signing, an injury to a key free agent addition and other recent training camp developments mean for New England’s skill-position depth charts:

RUNNING BACK
Rhamondre Stevenson
Ezekiel Elliott
Pierre Strong
Kevin Harris

Elliott is one of the NFL’s biggest names at his position, but he’ll be the No. 2 in New England, slotting in behind last season’s Patriots offensive MVP, Stevenson.

While his All-Pro heyday is behind him, Elliott should be a valuable complement to Stevenson as a proven veteran who excels in short yardage, rarely fumbles, can play on all three downs, is great at blitz pickup and is capable of handling a heavy workload (230-plus carries in all seven of his NFL seasons).

If both stay healthy, expect to see Stevenson or Elliott on the field for the vast majority of New England’s offensive snaps this season. The final one or two roster spots will go to some combination of Strong, Harris, Ty Montgomery and C.J. Marable, with special teams potential a large factor in those decisions.

Strong and Montgomery would be our top two choices, but it’s hard to pencil in the latter when he hasn’t practiced since the second day of training camp. Strong now also is dealing with an injury, though, so his spot isn’t secure, either. Harris has seen an abundance of reps this summer. Marable signed on Saturday after two seasons in the USFL.

WIDE RECEIVER
JuJu Smith-Schuster
DeVante Parker
Kendrick Bourne
Demario Douglas
Tyquan Thornton

Veterans Smith-Schuster, Parker and Bourne form New England’s top wideout trio, but Douglas has surged up the depth chart amid an impressive rookie camp.

The sixth-round draft pick out of Liberty looks like a roster lock entering Week 2 of the preseason and should bring a different element to the Patriots’ passing game as an undersized slot receiver with excellent route-running skills. At 5-foot-8, he’s at least five inches shorter than the other four wideouts listed above.

Douglas’ ascension has come at the expense of Thornton, whose unimpressive start to the summer caused him to slide to fifth on the depth chart. The Patriots drafted Thornton in the second round just last year, however, so his roster spot should be safe. He also showed signs of progress over the last week, including an acrobatic contested catch in New England’s preseason opener.

The roster hopeful to watch in the weeks before cutdown day is sixth-round rookie Kayshon Boutte. He’s flashed in practice but was largely invisible in the preseason opener. Can he convince the Patriots to carry six receivers on their 53-man roster?

TIGHT END
Hunter Henry
Mike Gesicki
Anthony Firkser/Matt Sokol

We’re listing Henry and Gesicki as starters because they’re expected to both play major roles in New England’s offense this season. Based on what we’ve seen in training camp and what players like Mac Jones have said, the Patriots will lean heavily on two-tight end sets under new coordinator Bill O’Brien.

But they need Henry and Gesicki both healthy and available to do so effectively, and that currently is not the case. Gesicki suffered a shoulder injury in Monday’s practice, and though the Patriots reportedly hope the offseason pickup will be back in time for Week 1, he will miss some time.

It was an unfortunate break for Gesicki, who was building momentum and getting more involved after a quiet start to camp. Losing him even for a couple of weeks in the preseason could impact the rhythm of New England’s passing attack once the real games begin.

Firkser and Sokol look like the top candidates for the TE3 spot, and both should see increased reps with Jones in joint practices. Scotty Washington and undrafted rookie Johnny Lumpkin round out the position group. None of the four reserve tight ends has caught a pass from Jones in team drills this summer.

QUARTERBACK
Mac Jones
Bailey Zappe
Malik Cunningham

Jones has a stranglehold on the starting job, silencing any talk of a potential competition with Zappe. The more interesting figure here is Cunningham, who repped at QB in each of the last four practices and led an impressive touchdown drive against the Houston Texans last Thursday.

We wouldn’t consider Cunningham a roster lock at this stage, but the Patriots seem to be evaluating him for a possible Taysom Hill-esque role as a situational, rushing-focused QB. His reps also could be aimed at preparing New England’s defense for some of the mobile signal-callers it’ll see this season, including Philadelphia’s Jalen Hurts in Week 1.

In the two practices between the Patriots’ preseason opener and their departure for Green Bay, Cunningham took 10 total quarterback reps in 11-on-11 drills, compared to 52 for Jones and 50 for Zappe. Trace McSorley’s only reps came during a scout-team period.

On top of those QB cameos, Cunningham has continued to work as a wide receiver — his primary position for the first two weeks of camp — and on special teams, taking reps as a kick returner and punt gunner this week.