Damien Harris Pegged as Leader in Patriots Backfield Over Sony Michel

Time could be running out for Sony Michel in New England, at least as the lead back. Last year, Michel took the backseat to Damien Harris in the running back hierarchy. The two began to split time and Harris made the most of his opportunity. Now, it seems clear who will be taking a majority of the snaps.

WynnBET has released its odds for the NFL’s rushing title, and Damien Harris has shorter odds to complete the feat than Michel. Harris’ odds are set at +10000 while Michel doesn’t even have odds. 

Michel led the Patriots backfield in 2019 with 247 carries. He was top ten in carries in the NFL, but was unable to break the 1,000-yard mark. After averaging 3.7 yards per carry, Bill Belichick decided it was time to go somewhere else. 

That’s where Damien Harris stepped in. Harris had 137 carries across his 10 games last year, and converted those touches into 691 yards and 5.0 yards per carry. Harris showed he could get the job done on limited carries and now he is being rewarded. 

New England morphed into an old-school, power running team last season-- mainly out of necessity. This year though, New England addressed its issues at pass catcher. The Patriots signed Jonnu Smith, Hunter Henry and Nelson Agholor to try and give whoever is playing quarterback some weapons.

That should be great news for Harris. His first taste with a truly expanded role shouldn’t come against a stacked box every down. Harris’ job will mainly be as a runner, since he isn’t much of a threat to catch the ball out of the backfield. In 2020, Harris had 5 catches for 52 yards. All of his damage will be done on the ground. 

For him and the Patriots, this is just another step into getting back to the top of the AFC East.