FOXBOROUGH -- When it comes to the Patriots' 22-13 win over Washington Thursday night, arguably no player stood out more than rookie running back Rhamondre Stevenson.
The fourth-round pick finished with 127 yards on 10 carries and two touchdowns. One of those touchdown runs was a 91-yarder with just over a minute remaining following Washington calling two meaningless timeouts.
Even though he's listed at 227 pounds, he flew down the Patriots sideline, which got the whole team fired up.
“Today, I learned he’s pretty fast,” James White said after the game.
He added: “It was an impressive run for a guy his size.”
While it was an impressive run and a great NFL debut, will he have a role with the Patriots offense this year?
It will be tough.
The Patriots have a very deep running backs room with Damien Harris, Sony Michel, White, J.J. Taylor and Brandon Bolden in addition to Stevenson. Given he was a fourth-round selection he will be on the team, but getting playing time may be a different story.
While he's certainly a talented player, it seems like he's last on the depth chart and is still working on being a complete NFL player -- just listen to what running backs coach Ivan Fears said about him a few weeks back.
With so many talented players ahead of him, Stevenson may be in line for a red-shirt year, but there's nothing wrong with that considering Shane Vereen, White and Harris all did the same thing at the start of their Patriots careers and look how it worked out for them.
Thursday showcased Stevenson's talent, but we just might not be seeing it much in real NFL games until 2022.