Who will lead the Patriots in rushing touchdowns in 2022?

Who will lead the Patriots in rushing touchdowns in 2022?

Patriots regular season football is almost here. The fantasy teams are set and everyone is eagerly awaiting the season opener.

The Patriots have two stellar players at the running back position: Damien Harris and Rhamondre Stevenson. Collectively, the two backs had noteworthy years in 2021. With some play time under their belts and lead running back James White announcing his retirement, these two players will have a shot to completely dominate the Patriots’ run game again.

Rhamondre Stevenson will lead the Patriots in rushing touchdowns.

This may come as a hot take, but nonetheless a valid one. Stevenson has been giving Harris a run for his money (pun intended) in this position.

In 2021, Stevenson had an impressive rookie campaign. He rushed for 606 yards, had 123 receiving yards and had five rushing touchdowns (via ESPN). So what puts him in the running to lead the team with the most rushing touchdowns?

Last year, Harris led the team with 15 touchdowns – all of them rushing. Stevenson was just starting to heat up in this role later on in the season. While Harris is an extremely crucial component to the Patriots’ offense, opposing defenses are learning how to stop his run game. Stevenson is going to be the player that steps up to charge downfield when Harris is contained.

Stevenson becomes a more plausible option to lead the team in rushing touchdowns because Harris is injury prone. Harris suffered a hamstring pull/strain back in December 2021, only to re-injure it a month later in January 2022. Fast forward to training camp; Harris was seen leaving during the team’s joint practice against the Raiders due to an undisclosed injury. It’s quite possible that Harris could suffer from another injury this season.

Rhamondre Stevenson has been practicing in the James White position – putting him in an important roll with extremely big shoes to fill. Stevenson is versatile in the fact that he can run the ball and catch it. While this may pull him a bit outside of the run position, it still gives Stevenson plenty of time on the field to increase his chances.

Bill Belichick is noticing Stevenson’s work ethic. The sophomore player is grinding in pre-season to show his head coach just how productive he can be for the team.

Stevenson is entering his sophomore year with the Patriots – which could raise some concern, keeping the dreaded “sophomore slump” in mind.  With Harris and Stevenson in the backfield, the Patriots have a solid offensive chart. Only time will tell who out-scores the other.