Blount, Cadet look to be the early favorites to win Patriots' RB roles
by Michael Vincent | Wed, Jun 24th 1:00am EDT
The Patriots started 2014 with Stevan Ridley as the power back and Shane Vereen as the passing situation back. In 2015 those roles will most likely belong to LeGarrette Blount and Travaris Cadet. Regarding Blount, Ben Volin of the Boston Globe said “LeGarrette Blount certainly has the leg up for the primary first down power back. He clearly has an edge over Jonas Gray and anyone else. Besides Blount, it’s kind of a hodge podge of guys who don’t have experience. Josh McDaniels thinks that’s okay, because he doesn’t mind having a little competition,†Regarding the 3rd down RB situation, Volin said that "Vereen (now in NYG) knew all the pass protections and all the audibles. There’s a lot [mentally] that goes into that role. Right now it looks like a battle between Travaris Cadet and James White, and I think Cadet probably has the leg up,†(Ben Volin, Boston Globe)
Fantasy Impact:
To put any money or stock in a running back out of New England has proven to be a futile exercise. Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick has done whatever was right for the team from week to week and game plan to game plan. We saw some consistency towards the end of last year with Blount on early downs and Shane Vereen in passing situations so that may trickle into 2015. With Blount out the first game, look for Jonas Gray to slide into that week one match up. If Travaris Cadet wins the 3rd down RB job, expect him to be a 4-5 carry guy and hold a lot more value in PPR leagues as the new Shane Vereen. It should not be a RBBC situation. I personally would consider the Cadet role as a Flex/additional WR in your lineup.
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