Brandon Bolden has unexpectedly been irreplaceable for Patriots

Patriots running back Brandon Bolden is having a career year at age 31.

Brandon Bolden of the New England Patriots was a surprise to survive roster cutdown day this season at age 31, but the resurgent running back is now having a career year.

Conventional thinking is that running backs hit a wall at age 30, and they need to really start thinking about a career in coaching or broadcasting at that point.

But the veteran made the 53-man roster on the strength of his abilities on special teams, claiming the kickoff return job and remaining a key player in coverage. Bolden, oddly enough, had never returned kickoffs in the NFL until 2019, at the age of 29.  He won back the job after opting out of the 2020 season.

Bolden never put up exciting numbers in his career. His career high in rushing yards was only 274, which came during his rookie year in 2012.  He has not gained over 200 yards rushing since 2015. That year, he also set his personal high in receiving yards with 180 yards.

The Patriots were fine with his contributions on special teams, but injuries to James White and Rhamondre Stevenson resulted in additional playing time in the backfield. That was not part of the original plan.

Regardless, this season, he has already smashed his previous personal high with 227 receiving yards. He has 141 rushing yards, averaging 5.4 yards per carry, and his catch percentage is 93.1% with 9.0 yards per reception. He has 383 total yards from scrimmage so far this season, a mere 40 from his career high.

Oh yeah, let’s not forget … he’s got SIX tackles! These numbers reveal that, when he is in the lineup, he’s not simply providing an extra body — he’s actually starring. It defies all logic and bucks every trend associated with aging running backs. This is by far the best season he’s ever had statistically. More importantly, the eye test isn’t failing us. He’s been running and catching the ball very well.

Bolden is very good at trusting his massive linemen, especially Michael Onwenu and Trent Brown.  That’s 730 pounds of Patriots force. The Pats’ O-line has been very good in the running game, but we cannot discredit Bolden for finding the holes and getting to the next level. That’s the running back’s job, and he’s making the most of what he’s given.

Based on Bolden’s abilities, the Patriots seem to specialize in keeping veterans on the roster who perhaps are not necessarily starting position players, but who have great skill on special teams, including Matthew Slater (age 36), Cody Davis (32), Justin Bethel (31), Brandon King (28), and Bolden. This contradicts the practice of many NFL teams assigning younger players to special teams duties to ease them into action, be more “athletic” in that facet of the game, and/or give more reps to experienced players. In New England, however, Bill Belichick seems to have adopted the view that yards are yards, and special teams are just as important as offense or defense. That explains why New England is constantly atop the league in this category.

Bolden wears number 25. Sharp-eyed fans may remember that he used to wear number 38. Why the switch? Because Bolden is the grandson of number 25, Frank Pitts, the former star wide receiver for the Kansas City Chiefs. Grandpa Frank was part of the Super Bowl IV team that took the Minnesota Vikings behind the woodshed and proved to them that they were tactically inferior to the American Football League.

That’s all beside the point, but Bolden has only added additional luster to that number with his performance this season. He’s a chip off the old block, for sure.

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