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Mike Reiss, ESPN Staff Writer
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Quick-hit thoughts and notes around the New England Patriots and NFL:
1. Rhamondre-Zeke combo: When running back Rhamondre Stevenson was preparing for the 2021 NFL draft, he was working alongside Ezekiel Elliott. The two shared the same Dallas-based athletic trainer, J. Hicks, and a vision for what potentially could be.
“I was hoping to play with him,” Stevenson said, “but we never thought it would actually happen.”
A little more than two years later, it has surprisingly unfolded just like they once talked about. Now, all Stevenson has to do is turn around in the Patriots’ locker room to see Elliott, who has taken up residence in former Patriot Damien Harris’ old corner stall leading into the team’s weight room.
No wonder Stevenson has been smiling so much in recent weeks. He’s long admired Elliott.
“It goes back to his Ohio State days. His versatility was unmatched to me,” Stevenson said. “He could do it all — pass block, catch the ball, run hard, just the whole 9 [yards]. And he’s a bigger back, like me.”
One intriguing question, which is especially timely as fantasy football managers go through drafts leading into the opening week of the regular season, is how head coach Bill Belichick and offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien plan to split the workload between the two.
Belichick has notably spent time talking with both running backs on the practice field in recent weeks. And while there will be some level of a rotation in play, the Patriots’ traditional offense, which O’Brien is bringing back in part, also has a “pony” grouping that puts two running backs on the field at the same time.
Bill & the backs.@dreeday32 | @EzekielElliott pic.twitter.com/9ypN7swGVN
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) September 1, 2023
Stevenson, who led the team with 1,040 yards on 210 carries (5.0 YPC) last season, is ready to adapt to whatever the coaching staff deems best.
“If you asked me this a couple years back, my answer would be different. Back then, in high school and juco [junior college], I had to get the ball and get going, and get some carries under my belt,” he said. “But I think since I went to Oklahoma, I’ve learned you just have to make the most of every opportunity. No matter how many times you get the ball, even if that’s your only play, you make the most of it.”
Stevenson, who at 6-foot, 227 pounds has a similar makeup to the 6-foot, 228-pound Elliott, says he believes there is potential for a potent 1-2 punch.
“I think the changeup of me and him just going in the game — even if it’s drive by drive or [snap by snap], however it goes — is going to be difficult for the defense,” he said.
Since Elliott officially signed a one-year contract with the Patriots on Aug. 16, the two have grown closer, along with the Patriots’ other running backs.
“We’ve all been getting together the last two weeks, just hanging out. Dinner, bowl, go to each other’s houses, things like that,” Stevenson said, before sharing what he’s learned most about Elliott football-wise:
“He’s very hard-working. I kind of knew that before, but just the way he approaches the game and how he’s a student of the game, he knows a lot about football as a whole. He’s been in all of our ears, being a helping hand. He’s a veteran, so hearing what he has to say about certain plays, certain schemes, certain runs, it’s great to have him in there.”
2. Corral intel: Steve Smith Sr., the former Panthers star who is part of the team’s preseason broadcasting team, watched new Patriots quarterback Matt Corral as closely as anyone and sums up the 2021 third-rounder’s 18 months with Carolina this way: “It wasn’t his fault.”
“So much of it was circumstances,” he told ESPN.com in an interview. “He had a new boss (coach Frank Reich). Last year, he had to figure out the old boss (Matt Rhule), then an interim (Steve Wilks), so it was three coaches. Then his [foot] injury [that sidelined him for his rookie season], so he was going through things mentally. But when it was time to get out there and do it, it can be harder than what you saw [in meetings].”
Add in that the Panthers selected Bryce Young with the No. 1 overall pick this offseason and have an established veteran in Andy Dalton, who knows the system well and can serve as a mentor to Young, it ultimately led to Carolina waiving Corral last week with the intention of re-signing him to the practice squad.
Instead, Corral gets a fresh start in New England. Smith — who relayed that Corral was “engaged” and displayed a solid work ethic in Carolina — leaves things open-ended in how it might unfold.
“I think he can be a good player, but we don’t really know at this point,” he said. “Watching him in preseason, I thought he made good reads. He was going through his progression. He might have been a little slow with it, but I’d take being a little too late than not seeing it at all.”
3. Belichick blunder: Given the banged-up state of the Patriots’ offensive line, it was surprising to see presumptive starter Riley Reiff playing in the preseason finale Aug. 25 while other top players, such as Trent Brown and David Andrews, were given the night off. Belichick was probably weighing the risk versus reward of getting the 34-year-old Reiff some live snaps at right guard, which hasn’t been his natural position over a 12-year NFL career. It backfired, as Reiff was rolled up on and has been sidelined since with a right leg/knee injury. No head coach gets every decision right, and as the Patriots determine how the pieces fit along the O-line and begin preparations for the season opener against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sept. 10 (4:25 p.m. ET, CBS), this one stings.
4. OL the story: If Reiff didn’t suffer an injury, perhaps the Patriots wouldn’t have kept 11 offensive linemen on their current 53-man roster, which included two players they traded for last week: offensive tackles Tyrone Wheatley Jr. and Vederian Lowe. No other team in the NFL kept as many O-linemen on their 53-man roster (as of Friday). Seven teams kept 10, while 18 kept nine, and six kept just eight. It reflects how injuries, illness and inconsistent offensive line play was arguably the Patriots’ biggest storyline of camp — so they need more bodies than the norm.
5. Onwenu’s fit: In November, Belichick said the Patriots never had anticipated playing Mike Onwenu at right tackle as a rookie in 2020, only doing so because the team got into a bind. Belichick & Co. maintain he’s built to play right guard, but the current uncertainty of which offensive line personnel might be ready for opening day could force the team to consider Onwenu at right tackle early in the season. The 6-foot-3, 350-pound Onwenu came off the physically unable to perform list last week (offseason ankle surgery), and Belichick seemed to leave the door open that he could get some work on the edge.
6. Will it Hurts? Few give the Patriots a chance in the season opener against the defending NFC champion Eagles, but for those looking for an area the team might have an edge, consider this: Philadelphia’s Jalen Hurts was one of eight starting quarterbacks not to play in the preseason, and of the 11 Week 1 starting quarterbacks in 2022 who didn’t play in the preseason, their teams had a combined record of 3-8 in last season’s opening games, per ESPN Stats & Information research.
7. Zero on zero: Patriots first-round pick Christian Gonzalez wore No. 0 at Oregon, and second-year New England cornerback Jack Jones wore the same number at Arizona State. But neither will be wearing it this season; in fact, no one on the Patriots was given the number in the first season the NFL has allowed it since 1972, which seems to reflect how Belichick himself has … zero interest in it.
8. Strong’s weakness: The Patriots didn’t use a 2022 fourth-round pick on running back Pierre Strong Jr. with the intention of moving on after one season, which sparks an obvious question: What happened that led to their willingness to trade him to the Browns for Wheatley? Belichick answered that the Patriots had to give something up for a player they felt they needed in Wheatley. But had Strong been more effective on special teams (he had major breakdowns last season in Minnesota) and as a pass-protector, it’s hard to imagine they’d have traded him — which highlights a flaw in their initial evaluation.
9. Reagor report: The Patriots took a flier on 2021 first-round pick Jalen Reagor by adding the wide receiver to their practice squad late last week, and if the physically gifted Reagor is to break through, he’ll need to be more precise in his route running than he was in Minnesota last season. In a game against the Colts, quarterback Kirk Cousins threw two interceptions, and both were a result of Reagor miscues. That helps explain why the Vikings, who kept five receivers on their initial 2023 roster, had Reagor on the outside looking in.
10. Did you know? The Patriots’ season opener against the visiting Eagles marks the fifth time since the 1970 AFC-NFL merger than the Patriots will open the season against a conference champion. The others were the Dolphins (1974), Steelers (1979), Bills (1993) and Broncos (1998).
Source: www.espn.com