Patriots close to re-signing RB James White, fantasy impact

Running back James White is expected to re-sign with the New England Patriots, per source. It's not done but should be pretty soon. The versatile RB with 25 touchdown catches since 2014 back in the fold for New England.

— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) March 24, 2021

 

The 29-year-old White was the Patriots’ fourth-round pick in the 2014 NFL Draft. After light usage early in his career, he had his best season in 2018, totaling 1,156 scrimmage yards and 12 touchdowns en route to an RB7 PPR finish. He fell to RB18 in 2019 and then RB42 in 2020, but he is one of only three running backs — along with Alvin Kamara and Christian McCaffrey — with more than 200 receptions over the last three seasons.

Patriots keep pass-catching back by re-signing James White

Fantasy slant: Rumors and public expectation appeared to agree that White would be headed for a Tom Brady reunion in Tampa Bay, but it sounds like the veteran will be remaining with the only team he's ever known in New England. It's tempting to see White and imagine a return to his 2018 heights, or even 2019, but the arrival of Cam Newton in New England probably hurt White's upside overall. White went from averaging 7.7 targets per game in 2018 to 6.3 in 2019 to 4.4 in 2020, his lowest mark since he was a little-used second-year player in 2015. With Newton back for 2021 (assumign the team doesn't make any more additions), White is likely to be a middling-floor, low-ceiling fantasy option in 2021, an occasional flex play who will regularly get you 6-7 points but almost never hit 20.

What this re-signing does likely mean is that the Patriots are probably going to roll it back with Damien Harris and/or Sony Michel as the primary ball-carrier(s) in 2021. Neither has ever offered much of anything as a receiver (Harris had 7 targets last year; Michel has 7, 12 and 7 in his three seasons), but they are competent enough when carrying the ball — especially alongside Newton — that this move probably locks the Patriots into some sort of thunder-and-lightning backfield approach in 2021 rather than acquiring some three-down back (either a veteran or through the draft). — Daniel Kelley