Fantasy Managers Should Pay Attention To This Comment From Patriots’ Jerod Mayo

Rhamondre Stevenson entered the season as the New England Patriots only fantasy football-relevant player.

Stevenson lived up to that billing through the first two weeks of the season. He was RB5 in Week 1 after he totaled 126 yards with one touchdown and was RB10 in Week 2 after he recorded another 90 yards and a score, per Sportradar.

Since then, however, Stevenson has underwhelmed both for the Patriots and for fantasy football managers. He had 85 yards of offense and was held without a touchdown the last two weeks. He’s also fumbled in four consecutive games, losing a fumble each of the last two weeks.

Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo did not bench Stevenson after his fumble against the San Francisco 49ers in Week 4 — a perplexing decision at the time. But the first-year head coach indicated that could be on the horizon with backup running back Antonio Gibson likely to see more snaps.

“That’s definitely under consideration,” Mayo told reporters in reference to benching Stevenson, per a team-provided transcript. “I’ve had multiple conversations with Rhamondre. But look, we can’t preach that ‘ball security is job security’ and still have him out there the majority of the time.

“So, I think it sends a stronger message to the players that there are certain things that we just can’t do to win, especially with the team that we have today.”

Stevenson said a decline in playing time has been written on the wall.

Stevenson managers riding high after two games might have left him in the lineup each of the last two weeks — he was RB57 during that stretch. But Stevenson’s play and Mayo’s ensuing comments might cause them to think otherwise against the Miami Dolphins in Week 5. Especially since New England’s offensive line continues to suffer from impactful injuries.

Gibson, who is the one most likely to receive more snaps, is available in 75% of Yahoo leagues and 68% of ESPN leagues. Gibson ranks RB40 on the season, per Sportradar, after recording 237 yards from scrimmage on 36 touches.