If you need an example of how the class of the AFC East has shifted, this is it. Both the New York Jets and the New England Patriots signed much-needed running back depth for the upcoming NFL season, yet only one of these teams ACTUALLY improved their chances of winning the AFC East.
I wonder if Bill Belichick has actually decided to accept that New York Jets coaching offer after all these years?
The New York Jets and New England Patriots, two of the fiercest rivals of the AFC East division, both signed “big name” running back talent to help improve their backfields for the upcoming AFC East division title dogfight. But, at the end of the day, there’s only one of these teams who will look better with their new running back…and it isn’t New England.
Yesterday, the Jets and Pats made two big signings as New York picked up former Minnesota Vikings and 2023 Pro-Bowl RB Dalvin Cook on a 1-year, $8.6M deal and New England signed former Dallas Cowboys and 2016 All-Pro RB Ezekiel Elliott to a 1-year, worth up to $6M. Seems like a pretty decent deal for both teams, right?
The Jets really only have Breece Hall, who is coming off an ACL tear, as the only capable starting running back on the team and the Pats lost 1B running back Damian Harris to the Bills this past offseason, so both teams were in desperate need of bringing in two 1B quality backs.
And that’s most definitely what Dalvin Cook and Ezekiel Eliott are as Cook is coming off a fourth-straight 1,ooo-yard rushing and 6+ rushing TD season (264 CAR, 1,173 rushing yards, 8 rushing TDs) that also saw him earn a fourth-straight Pro-Bowl nod, while Elliott, who is coming off a down season with only 231 CAR, 876 rushing yards, and 12 TDs (which is actually very impressive), has the potential to be a 1,000-yard ground-and-pound rusher in the right circumstances.
Well, the only issue here is that the Jets actually have more depth and differentiation in their attack with Dalvin Cook in the backfield, while the Patriots pretty much have an older, worn down, more experienced version of their starting RB Rhamondre Stevenson in Ezekiel Elliott.
I’m not saying that Elliott is a bad player or anything like that, but he really doesn’t provide too much difference in a rushing/passing attack sense than what Rhamondre Stevenson already does. Both players are ground-and-pound running backs who thrive behind great offensive lines (which the Pats most certainly don’t have) that great open gaps for them to attack the defensive secondaries with their size.
Elliott only had 91 passing yards last season on17 receptions (Stevenson had 421 on 69 receptions), while Elliott’s production really suffered with the emergence of Tony Pollard as the Cowboys starting running back last year. How is Elliott going to be a 1,000-yard rusher again capable of making the Pro-Bowl if he has to contend with Stevenson, who is far more alike to Elliott as a RB than Pollard is, for touches?
I’m not sure how this works out as it seems like it will just hurt both players’ production over increasing it.
As for Cook and Hall, these guys are also quite similar as they are both very good at escaping through the trenches and using their speed and shiftiness to create space in the open backfield, while also being able to catch 40-70 passes for 300-500 receiving yards. Yet, unlike the Stevenson vs. Elliott comparison, Hall and Cook actually COMPLIMENT one another as Hall can be more of the ground-and-pound RB against tough defensive fronts, while Cook’s shifty RB style is great against slower, zone defenses.
As a Patriots fan, it really doesn’t make sense why they couldn’t pay just $2M more to Dalvin Cook, who would actually compliment Stevenson and the Pats offense MORE than the Jets, and let New York pick up Elliott (who would also compliment the Jets offense MORE than Cook does). Is Belichick really this cheap that he’s willing to actively damage the Pats offense just to save a couple of bucks?
Nevertheless, as it stands right now, the Jets have gotten a LOT better as the Pats have pretty much stalled out.
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