The New England Patriots' reported addition of Ezekiel Elliott on a one-year contract adds important depth to a running back group that needed a more veteran presence behind starter Rhamondre Stevenson.
Elliott spent the last seven seasons with the Dallas Cowboys and was among the NFL's best running backs for most of that stretch. Despite tallying career lows in rushing yards (862) and yards per carry (3.8) last season, Elliott was still effective in short yardage and goal line situations. As a result, he scored 12 touchdowns for a Cowboys offense that ranked No. 2 in rushing scores.
Former Patriots running back James White really likes the signing of Elliott and thinks the 28-year-old veteran will be a strong fit in New England's offense.
"Rhamondre Stevenson is going to be the lead guy, the bell cow guy, but obviously Zeke is a proven veteran. He may not have the 1,500/1,600 rushing yards like his first few years in the league with that Dallas offensive line, but he can still be a very productive back," White said Tuesday morning on SiriusXM NFL Radio, as transcribed by ESPN's Mike Reiss. "He's great in the red zone, so I'm sure they'll use him in the running game there. He's great on third down and picking up blitzes, so I think he'll have a huge impact when it comes to that."
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White is confident Elliott will be able to lessen Stevenson's workload and help keep him fresh throughout the season.
"I just think it adds depth to the running back room. Rhamondre Stevenson kind of wore down a little bit towards the back half of the season," White said. "I know he probably wasn't expecting to play as many snaps as he did once Damien Harris went down (with injury) for a good portion of the season. He was playing 80-90 percent of the snaps -- first, second, third down -- so it will be huge to have that 1-2 punch to spell a guy and not have that drop off."
White also revealed that Patriots head coach Bill Belichick has been a fan of Elliott for a while.
"I know Bill Belichick has talked about some of the best backs in the league and I know he's a big fan of Zeke," White explained. "Whenever we would compete against those guys, he would always talk about how much he wanted to have him on his roster."
The Patriots' next preseason game is Saturday night against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field. These two teams also will have joint practices later this week. So it's possible we see Elliott in a Patriots uniform pretty soon.
