Patriots' Rhamondre Stevenson Left Room to Grow in PFF's RB Rankings

Where does the New England Patriots back stack up in PFF's latest list?

Nov 5, 2023; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; New England Patriots running back Rhamondre Stevenson (38) runs the ball during the second half against the Washington Commanders at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Paul Rutherford-USA TODAY Sports / Paul Rutherford-USA TODAY Sports

As we continue to inch closer to week one of what should be an exciting 2024 NFL season, rankings stacking up how the top players in the league look ahead of the year are still coming in.

This time, Pro Football Focus opted to rank the top 32 running backs ahead of next season, gauging who the top backfield options are in the current landscape of the league. In the case of the New England Patriots, we got to see how Rhamondre Stevenson looks when compared to the best in the NFL.

And while the results of how the Patriots lead back fared could be worse, they didn't hand out many favors either.

In PFF's RB rankings, Stevenson placed towards the bottom of the pile at 25th in the league, but was given reason for optimism ahead of his 2024 campaign:

"Stevenson’s ranking might ruffle some feathers, but the former fourth-round pick has impressed in his three NFL seasons and earned a 71.3 grade in 2023. The lack of consistent touches slowed his production, but Stevenson racked up 619 rushing yards and four touchdowns behind a bad Patriots offensive line. His workload has been slowly increasing since his rookie season, but a new head coach could provide more work for one of the more underrated running backs in the NFL."

Despite falling in the bottom half of the list, Stevenson still managed to stand out above some big names in the backfield, notably guys like Houston Texans RB Joe Mixon and Washington Commanders RB Austin Ekeler.

He played 12 games last season, averaging just over 50 yards on about 13 attempts a game. Considering how poor the offensive outlook was throughout the entire year, seeing these glimpses of production fro Stevenson pinned him as one of the few bright spots of an ugly 2023 campaign.

Though, 2024 could mean big things for the Patriots back, who's entering his age-26 season. With a refreshed, run-predominant system coming in from OC Alex Van Pelt, Ezekiel Elliott now out of the picture, and now fully healthy as we near closer to training camps, there's a lot to love for what he could provide in New England for year four.

If the offensive line can hold up in front of him, and the Patriots passing attack can marginally improve, we could see Stevenson shoot up these rankings in no time.

---

Follow Patriots Country on X for more New England Patriots coverage!