James White is the team's primary "sub back," which is many ways makes him the lead back, as Tom Brady explained.
"That's a really important position for us. It always has been over the years. Because we're such a passing-oriented offense, I think that role as a sub back is so critical," Brady said.
"And it's not just catching, it's also blitz pickup. It's really gaining the confidence of everybody that you know what to do, you know how to do it. And then you never know when your number is going to get called because Gronk gets throws, Julian [Edelman] gets throws, Danny [Amendola] gets throws. Then all of the sudden, man, the sub back is there and he makes a play, so it's such a critical role in the red area, on third down. James really came through for us, so it's been great to see."
White is the safest of the NE backs heading into Week 16. The team signed Steven Jackson but how many touches he gets over the next couple of weeks certainly isn't set in stone. White especially makes for a nice PPR play and should continue to be heavily involved in the passing offense.