Rhamondre Stevenson fit the fantasy football league-winner profile last season, as he displayed tremendous growth and was given enough work weekly to elevate his floor. Despite the breakout, the New England Patriots were flirting with veteran running backs all summer long before handing out a one-year deal to Ezekiel Elliott. The question for 2023 is if Stevenson can repeat his 2022 breakout in a low-octane offense with increased touch competition.
Behind in research? Get a trade offer in your dynasty or redraft league? Not sure who to start or sit this week? Leverage PFN’s FREE fantasy tools — our Fantasy Football Draft Kit, Fantasy Football Trade Analyzer and Calculator, and Start/Sit Optimizer! Put the finishing touch on your A+ draft with 1 of our 425+ fantasy football team names.
Rhamondre Stevenson’s Fantasy Outlook
The Patriots offense is … underwhelming. Mac Jones remains under center, and New England brought in JuJu Smith-Schuster to lead them in targets. Cool. In a division that doesn’t lack offensive firepower, the Patriots are the outlier and figure to continue to struggle.
Rhamondre Stevenson says he met and formed a relationship with Ezekiel Elliott in 2021
“Our games are going to compliment each other very well.” pic.twitter.com/swEbDbVogZ
— Mark Daniels (@ByMarkDaniels)
Stevenson is joined by Zeke in a backfield that will be heavily relied upon. New England ranked 26th in yards per game last season, and if it’s up to Bill Belichick, they will be staying competitive by limiting possession counts this season … not ideal for fantasy managers.
Is Stevenson a Good Fantasy Pick?
I just can’t do it. I understand that the pass-catching prowess gives Stevenson a reasonable floor, but is that really what you want to be the story of your second/third-round pick?
This team ranked 28th in red-zone drives a season ago, a number that doesn’t seem likely to change in a major way any time soon.
Elliott has scored at least 40% of his fantasy points inside the 20-yard line in consecutive seasons, making that a role that is more likely than not his to open this season. So even on the rare occasion that this offense is in the zip code of the end zone, Stevenson’s usage is likely to underwhelm.
No thanks. There are more paths to extreme disappointment than to a decent return on investment, and that has me fading Stevenson at his asking price.
- PFN Consensus Rank: 24th overall
- Current ADP: 27th overall
