Belichick sees more versatility in the backfield

Speaking on Sirius XM radio on Tuesday, New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick said he “sees more versatility” in the Patriots backfield for the 2017 season. Former Patriot LeGarrette Blount, who led the NFL in rushing touchdowns last season with 18 scores, was let go in free agency and replaced by free agents Mike Gillislee and Rex Burkhead this offseason to go along with incumbent running backs James White and Dion Lewis.
Early on in training camp, Gillislee has received the first goal line looks and is coming off a season where he ranked 11^thin elusive rating out of 64 running backs with at least 80 touches compared to Blount’s rating of 37.3.
Burkhead ranked 20^th out of 64 running backs with at least 80 touches with an elusive rating of 49.9 and he has experience both out of the backfield and lined up as a receiver. In 2015, 64 of his 75 offensive snaps came as a wide receiver, with 46 of those coming from the slot.
James White and Dion Lewis return to the team after both having successful 2016 seasons. White ranked third in the NFL in yards per route run at a clip of 1.90. Lewis missed the first nine games and was brought along slowly, but increased his snap percentage to 40.4 percent from week 15 through the divisional round compared to 23.4 percent in all other weeks.