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New England Patriots running back Sony Michel is coming off of a very impressive rookie campaign in which he rushed for 931 yards and six touchdowns (in 13 games, mind you) while averaging 4.5 yards per carry.
He then went on to have a spectacular postseason, totaling 336 yards and six scores in helping lead the Patriots to their sixth Super Bowl title.
After such an eye-opening first year in the NFL, Michel has many Fantasy Football owners wondering: just where should you target Michel in your fantasy draft going into 2019?
Well, as important as Michel was to New England this past season, we need to stack him up against the other running backs in the league to see just how valuable he is in fantasy.
The main issue with Michel is that he is very one-dimensional, and what I mean by that is that he does not even resemble a pass-catching threat out of the backfield.
Michel logged just seven catches for 50 yards this past year, making him one of the league productive receiving backs in the NFL.
It's not like Michel was lighting it up as a receiver at Georgia, either, as he accumulated just 64 receptions over his four collegiate seasons.
For that reason, it's hard to call Michel a No. 1 running back in fantasy, as guys like Saquon Barkley, Christian McCaffrey and Ezekiel Elliott are light years ahead of him.
Even running backs who are just middle-of-the-pack in terms of yards, such as Melvin Gordon and James Conner, are far more productive in the passing game, making them better all-around options than Michel heading into 2019.
Of course, there is always the chance that Michel becomes a bigger part of the Pats' aerial attack, especially with the Patriots losing tight end Rob Gronkowski to retirement and receivers Cordarrelle Patterson and Chris Hogan to free agency this offseason (also, Josh Gordon is serving an indefinite suspension), but all we have to go off of is his track record as a receiver, and it isn't good.
It's entirely possible that Michel ends up rushing for 1,000 yards this coming season, but without those extra catches, yards and touchdowns in the passing game, it's hard to recommend drafting Michel any higher than the middle rounds.
Plus, we also have to keep in mind that the Patriots have James White, as well, who will almost surely be a major target on short passes in short-yardage situations like usual. That could limit Michel's touches overall, not to mention the fact that Rex Burkhead is still around and that New England really likes rookie running back Damien Harris.
This isn't taking anything away from Michel. He had a really good rookie season and is certainly a good running back with big-game experience, but for a guy who doesn't catch the ball and who may not even be the Pats' every-down back, he isn't a great fantasy option.
There are a whole lot of other running backs out there who are more versatile than Michel, so unless you want him as your No. 2 back, you probably would be better-served looking elsewhere.
