Patriots: 3 players who’ve impressed us most at training camp

1. Damien Harris

Could Damien Harris be the Patriots starting RB come Week 1?

There’s no hiding that the Patriots backfield will need to perform better than it did in 2019. For the season, the team ranked 18th in the NFL with 106.4 yards per game and 25th with a lousy 3.8 yards per carry.

On top of that, coming into training camp, the outlook of the backfield was extremely discouraging as Sony Michel and surprise signing Lamar Miller were both placed on the PUP list.

Though the former has been cleared to return to practice, both players are still working their way back to full strength. Luckily for New England, second-year running back Damien Harris has made the most of the first-team reps he’s been granted in their absence.

The latest rumblings at Pats camp suggest that the 2019 third-round pick has been the consensus best player on the team since padded practices started last week. It stinks not having a preseason to see the strides Harris has made first hand, but we fully believe the hype surrounding him.

Given how desperate the Patriots for an improved running game, the Alabama product is clearly deserving of the top spot on this list as he makes the most of his current opportunity after a underwhelming rookie year that featured a hamstring injury and multiple healthy inactives.