FOXBORO -- Throughout the pre-draft process, there were some reports circulated that there were concerns among teams with Georgia running back Sony Michel's knee.
Michel reportedly has a "bone-on-bone" condition in his knee that could shorten his career and The Ringer's Mike Lombardi expressed concern in a podcast following the combine.
"I love this kid," the former Patriots executive said. "I think I'm concerned. There's a lot of teams telling me there's a medical concern here, so he could slip a little bit. I don't know what it is, but the way the medical works at the combine is there's a table with like six doctors from each team at one table and six different from another team at another table. His medical grade is a little iffy from what I'm told. But this kid, to me, is the prototypical NFL back. He can catch the ball, he can impact the passing game. Remember how we have to evaluate running backs– it's block, catch, run. It isn't run, catch, block. And this kid blocks well. This kid can be impactful. I love this kid as a player."
After the Patriots selected him at No. 31 overall, Michel spoke on a conference call and said he's fully healthy.
"I'm not sure what's out there, but I've been playing with no problems," he said. "I don't have any injuries. I'm not sure what you guys are hearing."
Despite sharing a backfield with Nick Chubb, Michel ran for 1,227 yards as a senior on 156 carries for an average of 7.9 yards per carry.
