New England Patriots: Rex Burkhead named a fantasy player to watch

Pro Football Focus recently named fantasy players to watch in training camp. Who did they choose from the New England Patriots?

With the football season getting closer and closer for the New England Patriots, that also means that the start of the fantasy football season is right around the corner. With fantasy drafts likely starting for most leagues in August, owners will be trying to gameplan who they will be taking.

Pro Football Focus recently named players to watch heading into training camp in the AFC East. For the Patriots, Rex Burkhead was the player that they named. Burkhead re-signed with the Patriots this offseason after a solid first season with them in 2017.

Last season, Burkhead totaled 264 rushing yards, five rushing touchdowns, 30 receptions, 254 receiving yards, and three receiving touchdowns in 10 games. Considering Burkhead missed six games for the Patriots, he was able to accumulate a good amount of fantasy production when he was on the field.

Despite coming in as a bit of a swiss army knife for the Patriots, Burkhead was able to earn goal-line snaps, which is certainly valuable for fantasy owners. Burkhead totaling eight touchdowns in 10 games is very impressive, and he figures to be in that role once again this coming season.

This offseason, the Patriots lost Dion Lewis in free agency, but they did replace him with Sonny Michel. As a rookie first-round pick, Michel figures to be the lead back for the Patriots. However, he didn’t really carry a huge workload in college, which has to be a concern coming into the NFL.

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Even though he might not get as many carries as Michel, Burkhead getting the carries and opportunities on the goal-line will be huge for fantasy owners. If he is once again going to be the running back inside the 20-yard line, he will be a good running back in fantasy football this coming season.