Fantasy Football 2017: Mike Gillislee Joins Crowded Patriots Backfield

The Buffalo Bills declined to match Mike Gillislee’s offer sheet from the Patriots. Gillislee now joins New England and their crowded backfield.

In real life this is a savvy move by the New England Patriots. They needed a player to take on the role as the team’s “big back” and they got one in 5’11 and 219 pound Mike Gillislee. Not only did they find a player to fill that void but they swiped him from a divisional rival. In fantasy football, this move makes a complicated situation that much more of a headache.

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The Patriots started the offseason by signing ex-Bengals running back Rex Burkhead to a one-year contract. Burkhead is your prototypical Patriot due to his versatility. If you need him to run the ball on early downs, he can do that. If you need him to catch the ball out of the backfield, he can do that. You want him in the slot as a wide receiver? Yeah, he’s shown he can do that too.

If you added Gillislee and Burkhead to a naked backfield, it would be an intriguing little duo. The problem is they are joining a backfield with two running backs who have already had success in New England.

The last time we saw running back James White he ran in the game-winning touchdown in Super Bowl LI against the Atlanta Falcons. He finished that game with 14 receptions for 110 yards and a touchdown.

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Running back Dion Lewis didn’t do much in the Super Bowl, but in the Divisional Round against the Houston Texans he had 13 carries, 41 yards, one touchdown along with two receptions, 23 yards and another touchdown. Oh yeah, he also returned a kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown in that game too.

So how in the world do we attempt to figure out this cluster-fudge of a situation in New England?

According to ESPN’s Mike Reiss, he believes Gillislee will “fill Legarrette Blount’s role.” If that’s the case, Gillislee could flirt with RB1/2 numbers as Blount finished last season with 1,161 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns. Then again we are all just assuming at this point.

A big part of fantasy football is projecting what teams and players will do. However, assuming what the Patriots will do with their running backs on any given week is a difficult task.

As we’ve seen in the past, the Patriots don’t care about the name on the back of the jersey. They don’t care about where players were drafted. They don’t care about what players did the year before or even the week before. The Patriots simply want their players to be reliable and productive. If they can do that, they’ll play.

Think about Dion Lewis and his situation. He did not play in a single game between 2013-14. Yet, he opened the 2015 season in Week 1 with 19 touches for 120 yards against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Who saw that coming?

Last year Legarrette Blount set a career high in carries (299), rushing yards (1,161) while his career high 18 rushing touchdowns led the NFL. You know how the Patriots rewarded him? They let him walk in free agency. CSNNE’s Michael Giardi reported the Patriots did have an offer on the table for Blount. Obviously, it was an offer Blount was not happy with and therefore did not sign it. The Patriots knew not to overpay for Blount just because he had a career year.

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At the time in 2014, running back Shane Vereen set a career-high in carries (96), rushing yards (391), receptions (52), receiving yards (447) and tied a career-high in receiving touchdowns (3). In their Super Bowl victory over the Seattle Seahawks, Vereen had 11 receptions for 64 yards. What did the Patriots do months after his career season? They let him walk in free agency.

In 2014 Jonas Grey ran for 201 yards and 4 touchdowns on 37 rushing attempts in Week 11 against the Indianapolis Colts. How did the Patriots use him after that game? Over the final six games of the regular season the Patriots only gave him 20 carries. He was then waived before Week 1 of the 2015 season.

The point is, the Patriots backfield is constantly a mystery and has the possibility of changing on a week-to-week basis. Would it be a surprise if Gillislee led the team in rushing yards and rushing touchdowns in 2017? No. Then again, it wouldn’t be a surprise if they cut him before Week 3 because he fumbled twice between Weeks 1-2.

Right now, Gillislee is my favorite back out of the four. He projects to be the team’s “big back” and that role should remain consistent on a week-to-week basis. With New England also expected to have the lead late in most games, he should see a good amount of carries every week. Then again, I’m not reaching on him either due to the uncertainty of his ability (154 career carries) and how New England uses their running backs.

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The other Patriots running back I’ll invest in is whichever running back of the four that is still remaining in the final round or two. This would give me a low-risk and high-upside player in one of the best offense’s in the NFL. If a player ahead of him gets injured or doesn’t “do their job,” you better believe he’ll get an opportunity.