Who are the most underrated players on this Patriots roster?

1. James White

Here’s an interesting trivia question… which Patriots player is currently No. 2 on the team in both targets and receptions on the season, behind only reigning Super Bowl MVP Julian Edelman in both categories?

Hint No. 1: It’s not a receiver.

Hint No. 2: Look above at the big fancy picture and the big bolded name under it.

Answer: it’s James White. Obviously.

White has 31 receptions on the year. He and Edelman are the only New England players with more than 30 catches on the season, and White’s total might be even more impressive considering the fact that he plays running back first of all, and second of all, that he’s accrued that many catches in just five games compared to six games for Edelman.

White also is No. 3 in both receiving and in rushing yards this season, behind only Edelman and Josh Gordon in the former category, and behind Sony Michel and Rex Burkhead in the latter category. If you combine his rushing yards this year (62) with his receiving yards this year (224), those 286 all-purpose yards from scrimmage are just two yards less than Gordon’s total yardage contribution this season on offense.

And yet, does White receive anywhere near the level of national recognition that Gordon does? Sure, he doesn’t stretch the field the same way, and he can’t outmuscle defenders or win contested catches on the perimeter. But White is every bit as valuable to this offense as Gordon is… if not much more so.

He’s already on pace for his second-best season ever in total yardage. His best season to date came just last year, when he rushed for 425 yards and had 751 yards receiving for a total of 1,176 yards and 12 touchdowns. While he probably won’t come close to that scoring output (he has just one touchdown so far in 2019), he could come close to challenging those yardage totals this season… especially considering how thin the New England offense looks right now due to injuries.

We’ve written at length previously about how criminally underrated White is considering the high-profile breakout party he had in Super Bowl LI. For a player who still holds the records for most receptions and most points scored in a Super Bowl, you’d think that White would be more revered and feared as a weapon on offense, and yet he’s continuously lost in the fog of perceptions around this team while other, more flashier names and personalities steal the spotlight.

It probably doesn’t matter to White, though. As long as he keeps finding ways to help his team win football games, both as a runner and as a receiver, that’s all the motivation this underrated Patriot really needs anyway.