For the most part, the New England Patriots’ offseason has been pretty quiet. They did add JuJu Smith-Schuster as a replacement for fellow wide receiver Jakobi Meyers. The Pats also traded tight end Jonnu Smith, only to replace him with Mike Gesicki.
However, things have gotten a bit more loud in recent days with suggestions that the Pats are not happy with young quarterback Mac Jones. In fact, one NFL insider suggested that the team could make a crazy draft day swap.
Whether that comes to fruition remains to be seen. We have no idea what head coach Bill Belichick and Co. are planning for later this month in the 2023 NFL Draft.
However, one report from Jeff Howe of The Athletic suggests that New England is eyeing another top-end running back to go with Rhamondre Stevenson. According to Howe, the idea would be to build a dominating run game under new offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien.
Stevenson is coming off a stellar 2022 campaign in which he recorded 1,040 rushing yards at a clip of 5.0 yards per rush. His progress afforded the New England Patriots the ability to move off a better-known Damien Harris during free agency. As of right now, free-agent signing James Robinson would be backing Stevenson up.
Related: 2023 New England Patriots mock draft
New England Patriots running back options in 2023 NFL Draft
Obviously, the gold standard at running back in the 2023 NFL Draft is former Texas star Bijan Robinson. It’s an open question whether New England would exhaust its first-round pick (14th overall) on a running back. In reality, teams are weighing the valuation of running backs in today’s NFL with Robinson’s generational talent. He’ll go Round 1. We’re just not sure where.
Other options include former Alabama star Jahmyr Gibbs and Devon Achane from Texas A&M. Both are likely second-round picks heading into the 2023 NFL Draft.
Either way, it’s becoming pretty clear that the Patriots are looking for more help in the backfield. As it relates to the quarterback position, we’re going to have to take a wait-and-see approach. We know that the aforementioned Jones fell out of favor as a sophomore last season. There’s an open question whether he’s going to be the Week 1 starter in New England.