New England Patriots free agency 2018: Top 5 targets

4. Dion Lewis

The Patriots worked with a three (or sometimes four)-headed monster during the 2017-18 season, with Dion Lewis, James White, Rex Burkhead and Mike Gillislee all getting reps at the position throughout the year. At most times, they had three all active and in the action, and it’s a model that worked extremely well for the team’s offense.

The team has a knack for finding backs who can run with the ball, but also split out and catch it when needed. It proved to be vital when multiple receivers were out at times, and it was the perfect scheme for the team to work with. However, Lewis is due to enter free agency after a successful campaign, and it’ll be interesting to see if the team pursues him this offseason.

History says the team will likely let Lewis go and work with Burkhead, White and Gillislee in their backfield, but the Patriots should try their best to bring Lewis back if they can this spring.

With six rushing touchdowns and three receiving, along with over 1,000 yards combined between his rushes and catches, Lewis was beneficial in multiple areas of the team’s offense, and provided a spark when Burkhead or White weren’t working in the backfield.

The Patriots did let go of LeGarrette Blount last season and Shane Vereen before that, which proves they’re fine waiting and seeing who’s the next big thing at the position, but it may be nice to try and keep Lewis around for some consistency in the backfield after a successful 2017 season.