As a pair of star running backs found new homes on Monday, the New England Patriots signed the right one.

The Patriots agreed to terms with Ezekiel Elliott on a one-year deal that reportedly holds a base salary of $3 million that can go up to $6 million with incentives. Shortly after, the New York Jets added Dalvin Cook on a one-year deal worth up to $8.6 million.

While Cook is arguably the bigger name and possibly the better player at this point, the Patriots needed a running back more in the vein of Elliott. The former Dallas Cowboys star should give the Patriots a skillset they badly needed out of the backfield as they have been on the search for depth at the position for the last month.

Here are three reasons why the Patriots were better off adding Elliott.

He gets necessary yardage in short-distance situations

The Patriots had trouble moving the ball last season, especially in short-yardage situations. New England ranked 26th in total offense and dead last in red-zone offense, consistently stalling out when it couldn't pick up just the very few yards it needed in order to add more points on the board.

Elliott might not be the elite volume running back he once was, but he can still get you the yards needed on a short down-and-distance. He was tied for 10th among all running backs in first downs gained on the ground, picking up 52 in 15 games as he played in fewer games than all but one of the running backs ahead of him.

On top of that, Elliott rushed for 12 touchdowns last season. A whopping seven of those touchdowns came on rushes from the 1-yard line and all of his touchdown runs came from within 15 yards.

Sure, Elliott isn't breaking tackles or creating yards after contact at the rate Cook has. But Rhamondre Stevenson was among the best at both last season, ranking fifth in broken tackles (24) and ranked second among running backs with at least 100 rushes in yards per carry after contact (3.81).

Part of the reason why Stevenson was able to at least power through all of that was due to Damien Harris, who helped Stevenson shoulder the burden out of the backfield for most of last season. Harris is gone though and there's just no way Stevenson would've been able to continue to create that many yards after contact again, especially behind a shaky offensive line.

So, Elliott proves a solid second punch to Stevenson in the ground game as he can come in for short-yard situations.

He's been sneaky good as a pass catcher

Almost all of Elliott's top highlights of his career have come on the ground. But he's been a threat in the passing game in the past, too.

Elliott has finished in the top 10 for receptions for a running back four times in his seven-year career, doing it all in a stretch between 2018-21. He also had at least 50 receptions in three of those four seasons, posting a career-high 77 catches in 2018 for 567 yards and three touchdowns. In the one season during that stretch he didn't record 50 receptions, he fell just three short with 47 catches.

The emergence of Tony Pollard in 2022 meant that Elliott didn't get to play the role as pass-catcher out of the backfield as much. He only finished with 17 receptions last season, a career-low.

But Elliott should be able to find some snaps to catch passes out of the backfield in New England. Ty Montgomery is currently dealing with an injury and it isn't ideal to make Stevenson a three-down running back again. So, Elliott, get ready to possibly be the Patriots' third-down running back.

His pass-blocking is even better

The one sneaky element of Elliott's game that's been praised by those who have spent time around him is his pass-blocking.

“The thing I'm impressed with — and these are the things you don't ever get to see as a coach until you get the opportunity to work directly with players — he's a very intelligent, very instinctive player,” Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy told reporters in 2020 after Elliott took a blow from Aaron Donald in a game against the Los Angeles Rams that bought time for Dak Prescott to complete a pass. “He had a number of really good instinct plays in pass protection, had a couple of saves in pass protection. So he sees the game very well.”

More importantly, Elliott's ability to pickup blitzes has routinely been praised. If you search “Elliott blitz pickup” on X (aka Twitter), you'll see numerous clips of him picking up a defender as they get into the backfield, such as this play against the Minnesota Vikings in 2021.

Or this play against the Bills in 2019, when he made the right read on a double-blitz.

Or on this play against the San Francisco 49ers in the 2021 playoffs, where he blocked two players.

As the Patriots' offensive line has a low floor this season, it isn't bad to pickup a guy who can operate as a sixth offensive lineman out of the backfield.