The New England Patriots surprised many last April when they invested their second of two first-round draft picks in the running back position: with the 31st overall selection, the team chose Georgia’s Sony Michel to help fill the void created by Dion Lewis’ free agency departure. While a stylistically different player than his de facto predecessor, Michel was able to establish himself as the early-down back Lewis used to be in 2017.
In that role, the rookie appeared in 16 of the Patriots’ 19 games in 2018 — including all three playoff contests — and finished the year with a combined 1,276 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns on 280 attempts.