Patriots’ Top Undrafted Free Agent Has Real Chance To Make Roster

It usually isn’t a matter of whether the Patriots break training camp with an undrafted free agent on their roster, it’s a matter of how many.

New England just snapped its 19-year streak of having at least one undrafted rookie make the initial regular-season roster last September, but this season is as good as any to start it back up. The Patriots are still looking for playmakers, and they just might have found one in this year’s UDFA pool.

DeShaun Fenwick is a player.

The Patriots added Fenwick in their round of signings following the 2024 NFL Draft, which included double-digit names, but he’s got the makeup and opportunity of someone who could make an impact.

Fenwick is coming off a lengthy collegiate career, splitting his six seasons between South Carolina and Oregon State. He didn’t exactly put a lot of tread on the tires, though, surpassing 100 carries just once. Why didn’t he get more carries? We don’t know, because he averaged 5.3 yards per tote across 50 games.

You could argue Fenwick’s athletic testing left a lot to be desired, but he scored similarly to Rhamondre Stevenson in many speed and agility tests. It doesn’t matter if a guy isn’t a great athlete as long as he’s getting you first downs, right?

New England, if we can make a long story short, has an open competition for the third spot on the running back depth chart. It doesn’t seem like anyone is leading the clubhouse before the start of training camp, so Fenwick should have an equal chance to Ke’Shawn Vaughn, JaMycal Hasty and former Gamecocks teammate Kevin Harris to earn a roster spot.

The Patriots are all about competition this offseason, so it would appear Fenwick picked the right place to try and earn a job.