New England Patriots: Bill Belichick impressed by Dion Lewis so far

The New England Patriots were unable to defeat the Jacksonville Jaguars in their first preseason. However, there were some positive takeaways.

In their first preseason game of the season, the New England Patriots were unable to defeat the Jacksonville Jaguars at home. To no surprise, the Patriots decided to sit most of their veterans, but there were a few recognizable names playing.

One of the players that were on the field was running back Dion Lewis. Injuries have certainly been an issue for Lewis so far in his career, but he is healthy to start camp. Likely, Lewis is somewhat fighting for a roster position.

Due to the signings of Mike Gillislee, Rex Burkhead, and the extension was given to James White, it’s pretty clear who are the top three running backs in New England are. As Lewis likely fights for a spot, he was able to have a pretty solid preseason debut.

In the loss, Lewis totaled 32 rushing yards, four receptions, and 23 receiving yards. Lewis also had a pretty solid yards per carry average on the ground at 4.6. Overall, it was a strong showing for Lewis. The performance by Lewis was recognized by Bill Belichick, who praised him for his work this offseason.

"“Dion’s had a good spring and a good summer, worked very hard in the offseason program, got an opportunity to do some things last night,” the Patriots coach said to Phil Perry of CSNNE.com. “I thought he was very competitive, made some plays in the running game and in the passing game."

With three talented running backs likely ahead of him on the depth chart, Lewis is going to need to have a strong preseason. While Lewis did perform well in the preseason, another veteran running back, Brandon Bolden, also did well.

These two players could be fighting for a roster spot, as the Patriots might have tipped their hand a bit with who is safe and who isn’t judging by those who played against the Jaguars. Aside from Jimmy Garoppolo, a lot of the other players had a lot of the line in Week 1 of the preseason.

Next: 3 Takeaways from the loss to the Jaguars

With a few more weeks of training camp and three more preseason games, Lewis will have plenty of chances to impress. He if he plays like he did against the Jaguars, he should be able to make the team for the 2017 season.