What Will The Zeke Era Look Like For The Patriots?
The first preseason game against Houston demonstrated the need for the Patriots to get running back depth behind Rhamondre Stevenson. By signing Ezekiel Elliot, they made a big step in that direction. Here's what the signing means for the team and what Elliot can provide for the Patriots.
What Does Zeke Contribute To New England?
Elliot has an ability to gain tough yards that is rare in today's NFL. His combination of power and quick off-the-line burst makes him very difficult to tackle, and as a result, he's extremely useful in short-yardage and goal-line situations.
He balances that power with surprising speed. He's able to find and exploit gaps quickly, able to find the corner and turn upfield, and is capable of accelerating. There's a reason Elliot has had four thousand-yard seasons (and two more where he was within 25 yards of it). While he has struggled a little bit in the past two seasons in terms of breaking off some of the longer rushes he had earlier in his career, he is still effective in getting into the end zone - 22 TDs over the past two years.
He also brings pass-catching ability. While he is primarily used in traditional RB capacities, he's a decent route runner with good hands, and his power makes him hard to tackle in space - he's a threat whenever he has the ball.
What Are Zeke's Pitfalls?
Elliot took an incredibly large load each of the last few seasons, and it's taken its toll. His rushing average has slowly but surely declined, to the 3.8 yards per carry he had last year. He has lost a step in the last couple of years, and it's hard to say whether that speed will come back.
He probably does have the ability to be a strong feature back - however, with Rhamondre there, he doesn't have to be, and it's possible that with less reps he becomes even more threatening. Zeke's four worst outings of last year were the last four games of the season - the last two regular season games and the two playoff games - which hints at wear being a big part of the issue.
What Will His Role Look Like As A Patriot?
The feature back position is Rhamondre's to lose, make no mistake about that. But Stevenson functioned best with a high-functioning backup of Damien Harris behind him. Last season, with nothing but inconsistency or injury behind him, Stevenson did see his performance slightly get worse towards the end of the year.
This had both physical and mental tolls, with the two biggest mistakes of his season, the lateral against LV and the fumble inside the 5 against Cincy, happening late. It's important for the Patriots to have depth at RB. Ty Montgomery's injured yet again, while Pierre Strong and Kevin Harris have not showed consistency.
Zeke will be an excellent veteran backup, someone who knows the big situations, and I imagine that he'll be regularly used in short-yardage and third-down situations, as well as occasional pass-catching roles. Given that red zone issues were a big part of the Patriots' offensive struggles, having Zeke's presence will help them considerably there.
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