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ith the New England Patriots placing Ty Montgomery on injured reserve, they will need some running backs to step up. One player is receiving a ton of praise heading into Week 2.
While Damien Harris is great pounding the pigskin on the ground, New England will need someone to step up in the passing game. Rhamondre Stevenson appears to be that guy.
Stevenson had a mediocre performance in Week 1 against the Dolphins with eight rushes for 25 yards along with two receptions for two yards. While not terrible, the Patriots will need a lot more from him moving forward.
Stevenson’s teammates appear to have plenty of confidence in him. Jakobi Meyers described the running back as a rare talent when speaking to the media on Tuesday.
“He’s a great player,” Meyers said. “A great player. I just feel like he can do so much, especially being that size. I feel like that’s a real rare talent of being big and skilled at the same time. He’s a great player. I feel like he’ll play for a long time.”
Meyers then went on to compare Stevenson to a Patriots legend due to the second-year back’s ability to catch the ball out of the backfield.
“When he first got here, just in practice, I saw him catch a seam out of the backfield,” Meyers said. “That’s like a James White kind of play, you know what I mean? But he’ll go out there and give you a dead leg, catch a seam, take one to the crib. He’s a really talented player.”
Is Meyers Concerned About Losing Montgomery?
The wide receiver also commented on the loss of Montgomery saying that he has faith in the group of running backs.
“I wouldn’t expect a dropoff,” the wideout said. “I really do have a lot of trust in Rhamondre. All of our backfield — they all are really good players, and they all do a lot of things really well, but especially him, too.”
Former Patriot Believes in Bill Belichick
While Meyers spot in the New England offense is locked up, the same can’t be said for Kendrick Bourne. Bourne only played two snaps in Week 1 and doesn’t appear to be a major part of the offense.
Former Patriot Vince Wilfork spoke on the benching and expressed his faith in Belichick.
“Nobody ever wants to be benched. And one thing I know about the Patriots and the organization, they’re going to put the best people on the field that they think can help win,” Wilfork said Wednesday on “The Gameplan”. “Sometimes, some guys don’t get more playing time than others and sometimes you get a lot of playing time that’s not expected.
“So I think it’s early in the season. You never know what’s going on there, if it’s health-related or if it’s game planning, whatever it may be. But you might see his plays spike next week and the week after that. So beginning of the year, I wouldn’t say let’s run around with our hair on fire. Bill (Belichick) knows what he’s doing. So hopefully we can get that situated and put the best 11 on the field that can help us win ballgames.”