He didn’t arrive in Foxboro with the rockstar status of A.J. Brown, but fullback Reggie Gilliam represented a clear admission by Mike Vrabel, Josh McDaniels, and the New England Patriots.
Their top two running backs were already established, but the running game as a whole had to improve.
The Patriots played Wednesday night’s season opener without TreVeyon Henderson, who made the trip to Seattle but couldn’t get his injured ankle right in time to play. That left Rhamondre Stevenson handling 60 of 71 offensive snaps (84.5 percent), per Pro Football Focus, the most of any Patriots skill position player.
Stevenson had a decent game, turning 25 total touches into 95 scoreless scrimmage yards. But he averaged less than 3 yards per carry against Seattle’s monster defensive line, a sign that New England’s upgrades up front — and the addition of Gilliam to the backfield — failed its opening test.
Henderson’s speed and playmaking ability, especially in the short passing game, was definitely missed against the Seahawks. But Gilliam’s Week 1 role was minimal. New England ran the football on 31 of their 67 plays, but Gilliam was only on the field for a third of them.
Gilliam wound up playing 13 total offensive snaps, with 11 of those plays resulting in runs. He wasn’t targeted in the passing game despite being a sneaky receiver throughout his tenure with the Buffalo Bills with 16 career receptions, two touchdowns, and an 8.4 yards-per-catch average.
Greg Bedard of Boston Sports Journal wrote this on Saturday of Gilliam’s quiet debut.
“Reggie Gilliam was underwhelming in his first Patriots action,” Bedard wrote in his weekly film breakdown for the site. “I'm going to guess that fullbacks improve with more real game action.”
The New England Patriots didn't pay Reggie Gilliam to play 13 snaps a game
McDaniels said the Patriots would need to take an all-hands-on-deck approach to replacing Brown’s sizable role in the offense. That could include more under-center looks with Gilliam on the field.
Time will tell, but 13 snaps for Gilliam feels low for a player the Patriots made the highest-paid fullback in football in terms of max contract value, per Spotrac ($10.8 million over three years).
Chad Graff of The Athletic wrote during the preseason that Gilliam could be utilized most to create personnel mismatches for quarterback Drake Maye to exploit.
“If the Patriots put Gilliam on the field alongside a running back, tight end and two wide receivers (21 personnel), they can pretty much dictate that the defense will play with three linebackers and stack the box,” Graff wrote. “That makes defenses more susceptible to play action and the passing game, which is where New England thrives.
“Then, if teams swap in an extra defensive back to counter that, the Pats can use Gilliam as a lead blocker to hammer the defense on the ground for consistent gains (which they weren’t great at a year ago).”
A.J. Brown's absence gives Josh McDaniels a reason to lean harder into 21 personnel
As Bedard noted, it’s still early as Gilliam didn’t play a snap in the preseason. The Patriots also would have had more matchups to exploit with the explosive Henderson mixing in with Stevenson in the backfield.
But the debut? It was mostly a dud.
PFF agreed with Bedard, giving Gilliam a 60.1 run-blocking grade in the opener. Similar to last season, when the Patriots finished top-10 in the NFL in total rushing yards, their net yardage on the ground was propped up by Maye’s scrambles. Stevenson and backup Corey Kiner combined to rush for 62 yards on 24 total carries.
The good news is that McDaniels and the Patriots have extra time to prepare for next week’s home opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Unlocking the running game was already a goal this season, and it’s even more magnified now that Brown will miss at least four games with a high-ankle sprain.
Gilliam could be the hidden weapon that helps get them there, but Wednesday night wasn’t the start that Patriots fans were hoping for.
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