Patriots' late-round pick might quickly boot veteran off the team for 2026 season

The New England Patriots made nine draft picks last weekend. In all, they made one selection on Day 1, two on Day 2, and six on Day 3, adding five offensive and four defensive players to a team that finished as the Super Bowl runners-up.

The eighth of those nine picks was Alabama's Jam Miller, the Crimson Tide's bell cow back.

The Patriots entered the draft in need of depth across their roster. While offensive tackle and edge defender stuck out as positions that needed support more immediately, landing players at tight end, linebacker, and cornerback down the board was widely thought to be a wise plan. Running back was also in that tier of need.

As things stand, the Patriots have six running backs on the roster. TreVeyon Henderson and Rhamondre Stevenson are the top two, with Terrell Jennings, Lan Larison, Alabama's Miller, and UCF UDFA Myles Montgomery.

They released Elijah Mitchell on Tuesday to give themselves a third open roster spot.

The RB3 role is an open competition for the Patriots this summer

Last season, the Patriots carried three running backs, but the third back was in constant rotation due to injury. Antonio Gibson, now released, began the season as the RB3, but he tore his ACL in Week 5 against the Bills.

He was replaced by Terrell Jennings, who eventually was replaced by D'Ernest Johnson following a concussion that placed him on IR. Johnson was not re-signed, leaving Jennings the only RB3 from last season still with the team.

Larison was a tremendous college player, totaling over 2,300 total yards on offense during the 2024 season with UC Davis. His 7 carries totaled 35 yards and a touchdown in the first preseason game, but he was placed on season-ending IR with a foot injury after the game.

Both Jennings and Larison will be stiff competition, but neither had draft capital invested in them, as both entered the league with New England as UDFAs. The same can be said for Montgomery. Given that Miller is the only depth option picked by Vrabel's regime, he could very well have the inside track to a roster spot and the RB3 role.

Jam Miller has a chance to win the RB3 role

Miller isn't an elite all-purpose back, but he has the traits to be a capable depth option. He ran a 4.42s 40-yard dash at the Combine while coming in at a compact 5-foot-10, 209 pounds. His 81/99 Next Gen Stats athletic score ranked him fifth among running backs in this year's class.

Furthermore, the Patriots need to find a viable kick returner. Miller doesn't have collegiate experience doing so, but the dynamic kickoff the NFL introduced before the 2024 season has led teams to utilize more compact players, specifically running backs, as returners.

Given Miller's speed, he could be an asset on special teams.

Last season was a subpar one for Miller. In 2024, he split carries with Justice Haynes, who transferred to Michigan ahead of the 2025 season. During that 2024 season, he took 145 carries for 668 yards and 7 touchdowns. On his 16 catches, he totaled 155 yards and added another score.

This season, however, he saw a reduction in carries, yards, and touchdowns, as well as a drop off in receiving production. He failed to reach the 4.0 yards per carry mark for the first time in his career in 2025, which was the case for all Alabama players with 20+ carries this year.

His stats against ranked competition this past season are a concern: excluding his outlier performance against Vanderbilt, he took 64 carries for 184 yards (2.9 YPC) over six games against top 25 competition. In the CFB playoffs, he took 7 carries for 11 yards against No. 8 Oklahoma, and wasn't entrusted with a carry against No. 1 Indiana.

A collarbone dislocation in an end-of-August scrimmage may have contributed to his struggles, too.

While Miller wasn't a highly drafted player, he is a player who has the opportunity to win the faith of the coaching staff as a depth option in the backfield, and potentially as a return man.

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