Sony Michel has been underwhelming so far. He missed all of August after undergoing a knee procedure, and he hasn’t been effective in his initial action. But by process of elimination, it’s looking like he might be a top-15 running back in the second half of the season.

He’s pretty much the last back standing.

Jeremy Hill is out for the year with a torn ACL. Now the Patriots are putting Rex Burkhead on injured reserve with a neck injury. They’re going to need their first-round pick to be their main ball carrier.

They have James White, and he’ll play a bunch, but White is more of a pass catcher than a runner – he’s a third-down type guy.

Kenjon Barner, who’s bounced around the league the last few years, will be their backup runner behind Michel.

While Michel has struggled thus far, I see him as a back who could come on in a big way. I think the Patriots will get their running game dialed in, and he’s the back they’ll be trying to bring along.

Over the years, New England’s running game has been remarkably reliable. They have put up top-10 rushing numbers in 10 of the last 12 years. That’s standard scoring (6 for TDs, 1 for every 10 yards). And they’ve done that despite having a non-runner at quarterback.

NEW ENGLAND RUSHING PRODUCTION
YearAttYardsAvgTDPointsRnk
20004241,3903.39193.026
20014731,7933.815269.38
20023951,5083.89204.828
20034731,6073.49214.725
20045242,1344.115303.48
20054391,5123.416247.217
20064991,9693.920316.95
20074511,8494.117286.96
20085132,2784.421353.86
20094661,9214.119306.19
20104541,9734.319311.38
20114381,7644.018284.410
20125232,1844.225368.42
20134702,0654.419320.55
20144381,7273.913250.718
20153831,4043.714224.419
20164821,8723.919301.25
20174481,8894.216284.98

—Ian Allan