Patriots beat writer Ben Volin discussed the pecking order in the team's backfield:
“LeGarrette Blount certainly has the leg up for the primary first down power back. He clearly has an edge over Jonas Gray and anyone else. Besides Blount, it’s kind of a hodge podge of guys who don’t have experience. [Offensive coordinator] Josh McDaniels thinks that’s okay, because he doesn’t mind having a little competition,” Volin said.
For the "passing down" role, "...right now it looks like a battle between Travaris Cadet and James White, and I think Cadet probably has the leg up,” Volin said.
“[Cadet] has more experience in the NFL. He caught 38 passes in the Saints system and is really an explosive runner. James White is coming into his second year, so we’ll see what he can do in training camp,” Volin added. “[White] redshirted last year after having a productive career at Wisconsin, so maybe he wasn’t picking up the offense as quickly as he could have been.”
Regular readers know we're very high on Blount given his ADP. In his last 15 games with the Patriots (including the postseason), he has turned 14.4 touches into 75 yards and 1.0 TD; those are strong and low-end RB1 numbers in standard and PPR formats, respectively. Whoever wins the "passing down" role will become fantasy relevant in PPR formats, but if Cadet and White share the role, neither will be particularly attractive.
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