The Patriots selected Rhamondre Stevenson out of the University of Oklahoma in the fourth round. When the 2021 NFL Draft occurred, the team had James White and Sony Michel on their roster along with Damien Harris, so Stevenson looked buried. But the Patriots traded Michel to the Rams in late August, opening a small path for Stevenson.
Unfortunately, White suffered a season-ending hip injury around Week 3 that enabled Stevenson to get more playing time before he exploded for more than 100 total yards in Weeks 10 and 11. From Week 5 on, Stevenson garnered double-digit opportunities in nine out of 11 games.
Rhamondre Stevenson’s Advanced Stats
In my breakdown of Javonte Williams, Stevenson popped in the running back advanced stats. He ranked inside the top-12 in YAC (3.1) and broken tackle rate (13.5%) amongst backs with 100 rush attempts.
Stevenson tied for 12th in evasion rate, meaning he joins a small group of backs with a top-12 ranking in all three categories that includes Williams, Rashaad Penny, and Nick Chubb.
Some of that could regress with more volume, but Stevenson showed the ability to create yards after contact and evade tacklers. Although Stevenson didn’t display much speed or burst at the combine, his agility metrics suggest that his evasion rate might not be a fluke.
