Patriots: Breaking Down the Sony Michel, Damien Harris, James White, Rex Burkhead Backfield

The New England Patriots once again have a crowded backfield heading into the 2020 season.

Bill Belichick usually has a plug-and-play system of running backs within the New England Patriots offense, but we’ve perhaps yet to see a unit this diverse and, in fact, crowded.

Sony Michel projects as the starter and James White is Mr. Reliable — he may not start, but he’ll get a ton of reps and manage to produce on the ground and through the air. Then we have former Alabama stud Damien Harris entering his second year, as well as veteran Rex Burkhead, who just took a pay cut to remain with the team.

With Cam Newton in town, you can bet offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels will be utilizing everyone to the best of their abilities in order to usher in the new system under the former MVP. So what’s the plan  for 2020?

Let’s start with Burkhead, because he’s been in the news regarding his contract restructure. He took a fairly significant pay cut to stay with the team, and this comes after a career year in terms of yards from scrimmage, yards per carry and yards per reception. He’s not a groundbreaking playmaker, but he’s a shifty back who helps provide a change of pace.

He’ll have a role without a doubt, especially given his dual-threat status, but he’ll continue to play second fiddle to White, who’s the superior all-around back. Newton played with Christian McCaffrey for two years, so he sure knows how to work with players of this style.

Speaking of White, expect him to be the leading receiving back, which he’s been for quite some time. In fact, on his Pro Football Reference page, his receiving stats come before his rushing stats. He logged career numbers the past two years and has compiled 2,809 receiving yards and 24 touchdowns on 320 receptions while adding 1,119 rushing yards and eight touchdowns on 274 carries since arriving in New England back in 2014.

Now let’s get to the ground and pound. Michel is coming off a pretty bad year when you consider his averages (3.7 yards per carry and 57 yards per game), but he still logged 912 yards on the ground and added seven touchdowns — all the while battling a foot injury that eventually required surgery. If he can get back to his rookie year form, he’s no doubt No. 1.

But could his contributions change with Newton as the quarterback? The Patriots have their first mobile QB since … seriously, when? Brady was the prototypical pocket passer, so naturally he relied on a bruising run game, which Michel helped embody his rookie season when he rushed for 931 yards and six touchdowns in 13 games.

In Carolina under Newton’s tenure, the Panthers never really had a downhill runner. One could argue DeAngelo Williams, but he didn’t come close to sniffing a 1,000-yard season when playing with Newton. Jonathan Stewart? No way. Super Cam led the team in rushing twice, with the most recent instance being 2017! So Michel’s role is certainly a bit of a mystery right now.

Now, for Damien Harris. Last but certainly not least! Burkhead’s restructure suggests he won’t be getting ample opportunities in 2020, especially after just appearing in two games last year, but we know Belichick loves fresh legs. Harris bulldozed the competition at Alabama, logging two 1,000-yard seasons and finish with 3,070 yards (6.4 yards per carry) and 23 touchdowns across 54 games (though he didn’t play a whole lot in the 10 games his freshman year).

We simply can’t rule out Belichick giving him more carries to create competition with Michel, who will be back out there in 2020 trying to prove himself and rebuild his stock. There’s a lot of encouraging discourse among insiders regarding Harris’ increased role this coming campaign due to the amount he learned his rookie year, so that’s encouraging at least.

Taking a stab at the Patriots’ backfield is pretty much a guessing game given Belichick is changing his ways year to year, and now with a new QB in town and a (likely) significant adjustment to the offensive system, your guess is as good as ours.