The New England Patriots have made a big change during the 2023 NFL offseason. They signed former Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott for one year. The contract is worth as much as $6 million. This news has gotten a lot of people talking, especially those who love fantasy football. They're curious about how this move will affect another young running back on the Patriots, Rhamondre Stevenson. In this article, we're going to take a closer look at what's going on with Elliott joining the Patriots and how it might change things for Stevenson in the world of fantasy football. We'll also briefly talk about how the Patriots did in the last NFL season and what we can expect from them in the coming year.

Ezekiel Elliott's Contract with the Patriots

Not too long ago, Ezekiel Elliott visited New England, and now he'll actually be a Patriot. He's planning to wear the number 15 on his jersey, which is a way to remember his college days when he played football at Ohio State. Recall that he visited with the Patriots during training camp at Gillette Stadium back in July and, after a few weeks, he got signed by the team.

Before this, Elliott had spent his entire NFL career with the Cowboys. A few months ago, however, he was let go by the Cowboys. When he was at his best, he was one of the finest running backs in the NFL. Lately, though, he hasn't been performing as well. Last season, he didn't run as well, with an average of just 3.8 yards per carry and a total of 968 yards in 15 games. Those are both career lows.

Even though he might not be as great as he once was, the Patriots could really use Elliott. This is especially when they're at the goal-line Last year, all of Elliott's rushing touchdowns happened when the team was near the end zone. He got 12 touchdowns that way, and 11 of those were when they were within 10 yards of scoring. The Patriots had a hard time being successful in these situations last year. This means having Elliott could be a game-changer. He could really help their new offense, which is being run by Bill O'Brien. He could also give Stevenson a break during games.

Effect on Rhamondre Stevenson's Fantasy Value

Speaking of Stevenson, he is a young running back who joined the Patriots in 2021. He showed a lot of promise in his first year, running for 606 yards and scoring 5 touchdowns on 133 carries. He did even better in the following year, with 1,040 rushing yards and 5 more touchdowns. But now that Elliott is here, things might not be as clear for Stevenson in terms of fantasy football.

At first, one might think that having Elliott help with some of the running duties could be good for Stevenson. He might get less worn out and avoid getting hurt. However, the problem is that Elliott is still a potentially very good RB, especially when it's just a short distance to the endzone. Stevenson isn't bad at this either, but having Elliott around means they'll be competing for those important chances to score rushing TDs.

Last season, the Patriots threw the ball to their running backs 123 times. That's a lot, and Stevenson caught 69 of those passes. This is one of the reasons he was so good to have on a fantasy football team. With Elliott in the picture, though, things could change. If Elliott ends up getting a lot of chances to score near the goal, and if the Patriots don't throw the ball to their running backs as much as they did before, it could be harder for Stevenson to do as well in fantasy football rankings.

Patriots Outlook

The Patriots didn't do very well in the last NFL season. They didn't win many games, and they missed out on the playoffs. They had problems on both offense and defense. Their ranking in terms of yards gained per game was pretty low, at 26th place. But it wasn't all bad – their quarterback Mac Jones played relatively well, and the offensive line did a good job too.

Even though last year was tough, things are looking up for the Patriots this year. They've added some important players to their team, like Elliott and wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster. They also have two young quarterbacks, Jones and sophomore Bailey Zappe, who might surprise everyone. If they can get better on both offense and defense, they might become one of the stronger teams in the AFC East.

Looking Ahead

The Patriots' signing of Ezekiel Elliott has big effects on the fantasy football outlooks for both the former Cowboy and Stevenson. Even though it's good to have Elliott on the team, it might not be great for Rhamondre Stevenson's fantasy performance. Still, there's hope for the Patriots this year. They've added important players, and their young quarterbacks are something to look forward to. It'll be interesting to see how things go for the Patriots in 2023 and how Elliott's arrival changes their success.