Despite the Ezekiel Elliott signing, there are many reasons to buy Rhamondre Stevenson in fantasy football leagues.
Rhamondre Stevenson has been one of the more polarizing running backs in the NFL this offseason. He had a breakout 2022 campaign, bursting into the top seven running backs in fantasy football PPR leagues. With the departure of Damien Harris, the headlines surrounding the New England Patriots’ offense highlighted the almost guaranteed signing of a secondary player in the backfield.
We spent the entire draft season hearing why top running backs made sense to sign with the Patriots. That spread further after the likes of Leonard Fournette, Kareem Hunt, and others paid visit to the team facility. The signing of a backup running back has been baked into Stevenson’s value the moment the new league year turned over. So why is everyone up in arms about the recent Ezekiel Elliott signing? Today I’m here to tell you why you should avoid the noise, and buy Rhamondre Stevenson in fantasy football leagues.
Rhamondre Stevenson = Tony Pollard
The key comparison I wanted to point out is that the dynamic between Rhamondre Stevenson and Ezekiel Elliott is not much different from lasts year’s Tony Pollard and Zeke duo.
The biggest concern so far is about Elliott “vulturing” touchdowns from Stevenson. Looking back to 2022, Zeke scored 12 touchdowns himself. Pollard also scored 12 times, including 3 receiving touchdowns. He was also by far the more efficient back, landing himself as the RB8 in fantasy football PPR leagues. He averaged 5.9 yards per touch (YPT) on 232 touches. When comparing this to Elliott’s lowly 3.9 YPT, the talent discrepancy was clear as day.
The Athletic’s @ChadGraff says there’s “a very real chance” RB Ezekiel Elliot becomes the Patriots’ goal-line back and vultures TDs from Rhamondre Stevenson. pic.twitter.com/HZ5PiIF2o2
— SleeperNFL (@SleeperNFL) September 6, 2023
Transitioning to Stevenson, his numbers range closer to Pollard. Stevenson averaged 5.2 YPT and scored six times last year. The biggest difference comes from the volume of passes that went Stevenson’s way. He saw 88 targets in an offense that was being run by Matt Patricia and Joe Judge; who are respectively defensive and special teams focused coaches.
With injuries continuing to pile up in the Patriots wide receiver room, Stevenson is finding his way into another large target share.
Touchdowns Don’t Matter
I know what you’re thinking. Touchdowns do matter! Of course they do. But with context into the running back dynamic in New England, I’m not worried about Ezekiel Elliott stealing touchdowns on the goal line. That was never Stevenson’s job to begin with. He became a top-10 fantasy running back based on efficiency and pass-catching, not because he needed double digit touchdowns.
Bill O’Brien took over the offense this year, which leads us to expect a competent display of football this year. Zeke will see his fair share of scores, but I project Stevenson to maintain and prove himself between the tackles and through the air.
