Tag: Rhamondre Stevenson New England Patriots

Breaking down the New England Patriots backfield

Does this backfield offer any value behind Rhamondre Stevenson?

Put bluntly, the New England Patriots were a disaster offensively in 2023. With arguably the worst quarterback situation in the NFL, the team struggled to sustain drives, finished 30th in total yards, and tied for last in points. The result was a complete overhaul of the coaching staff and quarterback room, with offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien replaced by Alex Van Pelt (most recently of the Cleveland Browns), and Mac Jones (Jacksonville Jaguars) swapped out for Jacoby Brissett and Drake Maye.

A return to competence would go a long way in breathing life back into the rushing attack after the Pats finished 26th on the ground (95.7 yards per game). Rhamondre Stevenson is back to once again lead the backfield, but Ezekiel Elliott returned to the Dallas Cowboys after one season in Foxborough. His spot on the depth chart now belongs to RB Antonio Gibson, who was signed to a three-year contract after spending his first four seasons with the Washington Commanders.

With the Pats set to open starting Brissett, a known game manager, as QB1, and then eventually move Maye, the third overall pick, into the role, the ground game figures to be featured. So, what does that mean for fantasy owners?

Fantasy football: Where to draft New England Patriots RB Rhamondre Stevenson

Analyzing New England Patriots RB Rhamondre Stevenson’s 2023 fantasy football ADP and where to target him in fantasy drafts.

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New England Patriots RB Rhamondre Stevenson followed up his solid 2021 rookie campaign with his first 1,000-yard season in 2022. Stevenson racked up 1,040 yards on the ground, posting 5.0 yards per carry and 5 rushing scores, while adding 421 receiving yards and a touchdown through the air.

Stevenson will have a little company this season, however, as the team added veteran RB Ezekiel Elliott, while RBs Ty Montgomery and Pierre Strong Jr. also provide plenty of depth while waiting in the wings. How will that affect Stevenson’s fantasy appeal in 2023?

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Rhamondre Stevenson’s ADP: 34.80

(ADP data courtesy of MyFantasyLeague.com; last updated at time of this publishing – ADPs continually change as more drafts occur)

Stevenson has an ADP of 34.80 in redraft leagues, meaning he is going off the board starting near the end of Round 3, or early in Round 4, depending on the size of the league. His ADP could potentially fall if Elliott starts getting more attention, especially since the veteran figures to be a touchdown vulture.

Among running backs, Stevenson’s ADP is 13th, just behind Pittsburgh Steelers RB Najee Harris (31.43) and Cincinnati Bengals RB Joe Mixon (33.69), while coming in just ahead of Jacksonville Jaguars RB Travis Etienne (37.72) and Green Bay Packers RB Aaron Jones (39.80).

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Rhamondre Stevenson’s 2022 stats

Games: 17

Carries | rushing yards: 210 | 1,040

Rushing touchdowns: 5

Receptions | receiving yards: 69 | 421

Receiving touchdowns: 1

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Where should you draft Stevenson?

Stevenson has consistently found the end zone in each of his first 2 NFL seasons, scoring 5 rushing TDs in each campaign. However, that figures to take a little bit of a hit, as Elliott joins the crew and will likely be the short-yardage back in the red zone.

While that sounds rather bleak, Stevenson is still likely to see a lion’s share of the carries in the backfield as Elliott has a lot of tread on the tires and is no longer an every-down back. The 28-year-old former Dallas Cowboys back has seen a precipitous drop in his usage in a pass-catching role, an area in which Stevenson has excelled. As such, Stevenson is still quite attractive as a low-end RB1 in PPR formats.

The area of concern for Stevenson, in terms of catches, isn’t necessarily Elliott. The Patriots added pass-catching threats like rookie WR Kayshon Boutte, TE Mike Gesicki and veteran WR JuJu Smith-Schuster. Still, Stevenson will be a vital safety valve for QB Mac Jones on short and intermediate routes again in 2023.

In PPR leagues, Round 3 is where Stevenson should go off the board. He’ll be a solid low-end RB1. In standard formats, he has slightly lesser appeal and should be going off the board late in Round 3 or early in Round 4. In those formats, he remains okay as a low-end RB1 but is a rock-solid RB2.

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