New England Patriots: James White predicted to bounce-back in fantasy

With the NFL season right around the corner, one potential bounce-back candidate in fantasy football is James White of the New England Patriots.

For fantasy football players, the New England Patriots have usually been one of the top teams to target players from. As one of the highest scoring offenses year in and year out, the Patriots generally produce a lot of good players for fantasy football teams.

While they do spread the ball around, the team being able to score so much helps multiple players have good fantasy seasons. Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski are usually two of the top fantasy players at their positions, but other guys are able to provide a lot of value after them.

One of those players has been running back James White. Even though White is mostly used on third-down, he is one of the top receivers for the Patriots, making him a very good player in points per reception leagues. However, White had a bit of down season for fantasy owners last year despite the Patriots being one of the top offenses.

Recently, Pro Football Focus announced White as a player that will have a bounce-back season in fantasy. Here’s what they had to say about him.

"Our most recent memories of White are from the playoffs, where he scored four touchdowns on 23 touches. His regular season wasn’t that good, though, as he scored just three touchdowns (all receiving) in 14 games. New England’s backfield is still crowded — with White and Rex Burkhead, as well as newcomers Sony Michel and Jeremy Hill — but White’s role as a third-down back in the offense should be secure. He’s an under-the-radar RB3 candidate."

As expected in the regular season, White only had 171 rushing yards, as he wasn’t much of a factor in the running game. However, he did total 56 receptions, 429 receiving yards, and three receiving touchdowns. Those numbers were down a bit from 2016, but White did miss two games for the Patriots.

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Coming into 2018, the Patriots’ backfield will be a bit crowded once again. However, White should have his normal role as the third-down back. In leagues that are PPR, White should provide some value in the later rounds. If the Patriots use him during the regular season like they do in the playoffs, White could end up being a great pick for fantasy owners.