The praise for the Patriots running back depth chart continues to pile up.
Position coach Ivan Fears said over the weekend that he’s “smiling” and “very pleased” with the talent and work of the group that includes Damien Harris, Sony Michel, James White, J.J. Taylor, Brandon Bolden and rookie Rhamondre Stevenson.
During his Monday morning Zoom call with the media head coach Bill Belichick emphasized the “quality of players and people” competing to carry the ball in New England.
“It's great to have good depth and good players at any position, but especially that one,” Belichick said. “That group works well together. They work together and help each other and work with each other. The veteran players have helped some of the guys with a little less experience, but they've all been productive, and I think they all can help our team win.”
There are certainly questions regarding roles and roster spots. Atop the depth chart is Harris, entering his third season as the projected lead back. The former third-round pick had 641 yards while averaging 5.0 yards a carry a year ago despite missing six games to injuries to open and close out the year.
Harris may be the presumed top option in the group, but he certainly doesn’t sound like a guy above the rest. In fact, he proclaimed the value of the group’s depth.
“It is fantastic,” Harris said of the running back group. “I can’t speak enough about how great it is to be a part of that room. A group full of special guys on and off the field. Seeing guys doing so many different things well on the field, it obviously helps our team, helps our offense. That’s what we want to do. We work every day trying to be the best position group that we can be, in order to help this team be successful. We’ve got a lot of great guys that work extremely hard, that are willing to do whatever it takes in order to help this team be successful. Having everybody be able to buy in and just put their heads down and grind, and come together each and every day to do our part in this offense, it’s been special so far.”