Rhamondre Stevenson could become the Patriots' best running back ever

The New England Patriots' offseason is winding down, at least from a transactional standpoint. The NFL draft is complete, and the free agent signing period has ended, leaving the available free agent pool relatively empty.

The Patriots prioritized youth this offseason, most obviously through the draft (duh), but also through external free-agent signings, and the re-signings of their own free agents. Mike Onwenu, Christian Barmore, and Rhamondre Stevenson all got new deals this offseason, to name a few.

Rhamondre Stevenson is fresh off of signing a 4-year $36M deal that will keep him in Foxborough for years to come. It's an interesting play, given how the financial landscape has transformed for the running back market in recent years in the NFL. Stevenson is a good running back. He's shown marked improvement since entering the league and is one of the young stars on an offense devoid of many.

Keeping Stevenson on the team for the next few years will impact his legacy as a New England Patriot. With the new deal, we can expect him to quickly climb up the all-time Patriot leaderboard rankings, eventually surpassing the record to take sole possession.

Rhamondre Stevenson is already well on his way to being a Patriots all-time great

Since 1995, the New England Patriots have only had two running backs stay with the team for longer than four seasons. Those two players are James White and fan favorite Kevin Faulk. For the others, it's always four seasons - if you can make it that long - then you're gone.

Stevenson has only been with the Patriots for three seasons, but he is already in the top 20 in franchise history regarding rushing yards (2,265) and rushing touchdowns (14). He has one year left on his rookie contract, with four more years upcoming, giving him the runway to be the primary workhorse out of the backfield for the foreseeable future.

This bodes well for Stevenson in accumulating the stats to reach the top of the Patriots' all-time rushing leaders. Sure, former players like Curtis Martin, Corey Dillon, Tony Collins, and LeGarrette Blount have rushed for more yards and touchdowns, but the staying power wasn't there to keep them in New England long enough to keep their numbers out of reach.

Dillon and Blount went on to win one and two Super Bowls with the Pats, respectively. James White and Kevin Faulk each won three Super Bowls with the Patriots. While no one is expecting the Patriots to win Super Bowls any time soon, Stevenson now has the runway to potentially be here for one, and with his stats, that will be enough for him to earn the title of New England's best running back of all-time.

For statistical comparison, Stevenson sits 3,188 yards shy of the Patriots' all-time rushing yards leader, Sam Cunningham. He sits 31 touchdowns behind the Patriots' all-time rushing touchdowns leader, Jim Nance.

Over the next five seasons, if Stevenson can average over 640 rushing yards per season while finding the endzone an average of six times, he will statistically be the best...

However, he'll need to win at least one Super Bowl if he wants to be considered the all-time greatest running back in Patriot history. This is a franchise built on rings and hardware. The rushing and game stats will mount, but ultimately, his legacy will be cemented with 'chips.

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