Harris and Taylor Have Helped Make The Running Depth Chart a Competition

While Sony Michel and Lamar Miller were sitting out 2019 third round pick Damien Harris and 2020 undrafted free agent JJ Taylor were turning heads. Michel came off the PUP but the damage has already been done.

Harris was considered one of the better backs in the 2019 NFL draft and when the Patriots grabbed him, It was labeled as a steal the draft. Unfortunately for Harris, he didn't see much time his rookie year. Harris is a north and south style powerhouse.

This preseason however, things are looking quite different. Here's what Belichick had to say about Harris. “He’s a smart player and he has a lot of skills that I think we’ll be able to utilize. He’s had an opportunity to get quite a few reps here in the work that we’ve done to this point, so I think that’s helped him, but he seems like he’s in good shape and ready to go. Looking forward to seeing him.”

Harris is trying to stay in game shape and making sure he's completely familiar with the playbook incase the opportunity arrives for him to take the field.

One of Harris's former coaches Mike Locksley had this to say about Harris. “He’s an every-down back. He can protect the quarterback, run the ball. He catches the ball out of the backfield a lot better than some might have thought. I found out very quickly that was part of Damien’s skill set.”

Pretty much everything they can get out of Miller or Bolden he can do. Which is going to make this competition very interesting.

Taylor went undrafted out of Arizona due to his size. Although Darren Sproles who is the same build and body type as Taylor, had a successful career; many that small are never given a chance.

Running backs coach Ivan Fears recently spoke about Taylor and he had high praise for the young running back. He clearly sees a dangerous weapon potential in Taylor. Fears said Taylor is working extremely hard this camp and compared him to Dion Lewis.

Fears said, "Same quickness, same suddenness. He’s a hell of a pass-catcher. Guy’s got great vision. There’s a [expletive] load of stuff that’s good about him. He’s got to learn to play bigger than his size."

Taylor's been making the most his time in camp catching passes and taking handoffs. Taylor is also one of the people fighting for a spot as a return specialist, so if he doesn't make the roster one way, he can make it another.

Taylor's best used on counters, tosses, misdirections and sweeps. Along of course with catching passes on wheel routes and flats. He's also got the ability to line up outside in the slot, kinda like the Patriots do with James White and Rex Burkhead on occasion.

Fears noted somethings about Taylor that he has to overcome. "First it’s being a rookie. Second, everybody has some physical deficiencies they’ve got to handle, and his size is something that he can handle and he has to deal with when he’s playing. With a first-year player coming in, there’s a lot of things he’s got to learn and a lot of things that he’s got to do better."

He's already showing he can do that. Taylor's not looking to be a feature back this year, so if he can crack the roster; he'll have plenty of time to develop. 

With both Taylor and Harris turning heads, Now that Michel is back, he's going to have to play lights out and show development in the passing game. Of all the backs on the roster, Michel seems to be the only one that has issues in that area. Now that Brady is gone, he no longer has that excuse. Taylor and Harris could cause a drastic change to the amount of reps last year's core backs saw.