They wouldn't! Would they??
They might…
After NFL Media's Daniel Jeremiah lobbed a chaos grenade into Patriots Twitter a few weeks ago by mocking Texas running back Bijan Robinson to New England with the 14th overall pick, new reports suggest that might not be as crazy as it sounds.
Well…maybe not Robinson himself. But another big-time back? Don't rule it out, according to Jeff Howe of The Athletic.
While expounding Wednesday on the Patriots' off-season drama surrounding Bill Belichick and Mac Jones -- more on that here -- Howe noted the ways in which the team has rebuilt its offense in the off-season and dropped an interesting nugget in the process.
"They opted for more explosion in the slot with JuJu Smith-Schuster over Jakobi Meyers, and they traded tight end Jonnu Smith before adding Mike Gesicki. They’re building the running game around Rhamondre Stevenson and have quietly shown interest in adding another blue-chip back in the draft," he wrote.
Pause.
The Patriots certainly don't need to replace Stevenson, who just proved himself one of the best three-down backs in the NFL last season. But they definitely need to provide him some support after watching him get gassed and beat up from shouldering the offense too much in 2022.
Though New England signed James Robinson to a two-year deal in free agency, his contract suggests he might be more insurance than anything. His deal carries just $150,000 in dead money, and the team could save $1.6 million by releasing him. Ty Montgomery, who's on the second year of his deal with the Patriots, has a very similar outlook.
Neither of those players, nor even Pierre Strong or Kevin Harris, necessarily hinders the Patriots from adding another running back to the fold, especially if that back can immediately become a reliable backup for Stevenson.
Now, Bijan Robinson is the kind of guy you draft to be your starter immediately, which New England certainly doesn't need him to be. Additionally, running back simply isn't as valuable to this team in the first round as other positions, no matter how great a prospect Robinson is.
But once you start looking at players like Alabama's Jahmyr Gibbs, who could be a late first-round or early second-round pick, things get interesting. Gibbs, in particular, played under Bill O'Brien last year, and the Patriots' new offensive coordinator might make a strong recommendation for the Alvin Kamara clone.
Senior Bowl star Tyjae Spears of Tulane, meanwhile, could last a little longer into Day 2 and provide a similar element of electricity in the run game as a change-of-back back behind Stevenson. TCU's Kendre Miller, whom the Patriots met with down at TCU's Pro Day, could potentially be had in the fourth round, where New England has three picks.
So while the biggest fish -- Bijan Robinson -- isn't likely a possibility, there are certainly other backs relatively early in the draft that could contribute Day 1 for New England the way Stevenson did. The Patriots seem to want to support the passing game by running the ball better than they did last year (and maybe even keep some leverage around for Stevenson's contract negotiations), so it shouldn't be a surprise if they draft yet another running back (or two) in 2023.
