Fantasy Upside
The Patriots not only signed Mike Gillislee as a restricted free agent from Buffalo, but because he was not an unrestricted free agent, New England had to send a draft pick to the Bills. Bill Belichick really isn't in the business of giving up draft picks for players he does not like. That means Gillislee is the favorite to inherit the team's early-down/goal-line back role that produced a league-high 18 rushing touchdowns from the now departed LeGarrette Blount. Blount finished as a top-10 PPR RB in this offense a year ago, and Gillislee was No. 1 in the NFL in TD rate a year ago at 8.2 percent.
Fantasy Downside
#Belitricks. You just never know for sure who will start at RB or if the Patriots will lean more on the passing down back week-to-week. So drafting Gillislee (whose ADP has risen into the fifth/sixth round in early August) still requires a leap of faith. Per 4for4's Chris Raybon, it should also be noted Blount's 17.6 rushes per game were the most by a Patriots power back since Steven Ridley's 18.1 in 2012. So some regression in volume could be in order for Gillislee in this role.
2017 Bottom Line
Blount was eighth in standard fantasy points per week in 2017 and 13th in PPR. Considering Gillislee is being drafted as a low-end RB2 or flex player, the reward outweighs the risk. Gillislee has RB1 upside at a reasonable ADP.