The New England Patriots made a much-needed move to bolster their running back room on Monday.
Veteran running back Ezekiel Elliott signed a one-year deal worth up to $6 million with the Patriots, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. The longtime Dallas Cowboys star presumably will slot in as the No. 2 RB on New England's depth chart behind Rhamondre Stevenson.
Zeke's days as a Pro Bowl-caliber running back may be behind him, but that doesn't mean he can't help the Patriots in 2023. On the latest episode of Tom E. Curran's Patriots Talk Podcast, Andrew Callahan of The Boston Herald explained why Elliott's presence will benefit an offense looking to improve after a dismal 2022.
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"Ezekiel Elliott is going to help you in two ways: short yardage and in blitz pickup," Callahan said. "He's going to make life easier on the Patriots' best and most important players on offense, those being respectively, Rhamondre Stevenson and Mac Jones.
"That is the value for me. Not a statistic, not his number of pass-blocking snaps brought to you by PFF. It's making Stevenson better by taking some off his plate, and giving Mac more time, which we know he needs more of."
Although Elliott doesn't have the same burst he once had, Callahan still believes he's capable of producing if called upon to assume a James White-like pass-catching role out of the backfield.
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"With him, it's more of just a security blanket," Callahan said. "He'll catch the ball, he'll make the proper block and blitz pickup. If he's back there, more likely than not you're in some sort of six, seven-man protection. If Rhamondre Stevenson's in there, get him the ball. That's Mac's favorite throw so far in camp is against the linebacker. So maybe not full James White, maybe not 80 percent James White, but 60-70 is still not bad."
Also in this episode:
- Why move on from Damien Harris?
- TE depth concerns with Mike Gesicki injury?
- What to do with Malik Cunningham?
- Irrelevant questions with Jabrill Peppers