Rhamondre Stevenson Hits New Patriots, NFL Heights

From a New England Patriots perspective, Rhamondre Stevenson is having a historic season.

Curtis Martin. Corey Dillon. LeGarrette Blount. 

They've got nothing on Rhamondre Stevenson, at least in one seasonal New England Patriots department. 

In the lens of Patriots history, Stevenson has reached unprecedented offensive heights. Through the first 11 games, Stevenson is the only offensive representative in team history to earn at least 600 yards on the ground (680) and 350 through the air (359). That's part of a newfound trust that New England (6-5) has placed in him as it embarks upon a late playoff push, one that has Stevenson ranked eighth in the league with 201 offensive touches.

Combined with an average rush of 4.5 yards and catch of 7.2, Stevenson is in good NFL company. He and Christian McCaffrey are the only players to earn those lofty numbers this season. Other rushers to do so in recent years include Austin Ekeler, Dalvin Cook, and Alvin Kamara. 

Stevenson has by far been the Patriots' most consistent offensive weapon as they seek to create a new streak of playoff appearances. It's gotten to the point where Stevenson has earned the ultimate compliment from head coach Bill Belichick. The NBC broadcast of Thursday's holiday loss to the Minnesota Vikings revealed that Belichick compared Stevenson to the most valuable Patriot of all during a production meeting. 

"(Belichick) doesn’t speak a lot in those production meetings, but he probably talked about Rhamondre for 15 minutes," game analyst Jason Garrett revealed. "He compared his growth and his development in a short period of time to both Tom Brady and to Lawrence Taylor.”

Stevenson's next opportunity to fulfill those comparisons comes on Thursday night when the Patriots battle the Buffalo Bills in a crucial divisional showdown (8:15 p.m. ET, Amazon Prime Video). 

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Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags

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