Player: LeGarrette Blount
Position: Running Back
Team: New England Patriots
2016 Stats | Rush | Yards | AVG | TD | Points | Ranking |
| 299 | 1,161 | 3.9 | 18 | 229.4 | 8th |
2016 Review
Blount proved to be a huge reason why the Patriots were able to stay afloat during Tom Brady's four-game suspension to open the season. He put up 352 yards and four touchdowns, including two 100-yard rushing performances, during that span. It's one of the primary reasons New England went 3-1 to start the season.
Blount did tail off towards the end of the year, tallying 132 rushing yards on 51 attempts for an average of 2.6 yards in his final three games. Though, fantasy owners were pepped up a tad by the fact that he scored four touchdowns in those three games.
All said, Blount scored a touchdown in all but three of his 16 regular season games. Not only did this make him a RB1 option, it made him one of the most-consistent fantasy running backs in the game.
Dynasty Outlook
At 30 years old and with just his second 1,000-yard season under his belt, there has to be some concern that Blount's career-best 2016 performance was a fluke. Somewhat akin to what Justin Forsett did at a similar age for the Baltimore Ravens back in 2014. But it's really going to depend on where Blount plays in 2017 and whether he's the featured back.
New England seems to be the ideal fit for what Blount brings to the table. Not capable of providing anything of substance in the passing game (seven catches in 2016), the Patriots have other backs to fill that role. Blount is the bruiser, someone that will continue to get goal-line touches while being a featured two-down back. We're not sure the same could be said elsewhere.
Free Agency Outlook
New England isn't a team that invests heavily on running backs. That's why they were more than happy to pay Blount his $1 million his season instead of hitting the open market. But at 30 years old and with just one decent payday left, it stands to reason that Blount himself will be looking for the cash here. After all, here's a dude that's averaging a salary of less than $1 million during his seven-year NFL career.
If that's the case, it seems to be a foregone conclusion that Blount will leave the Patriots. Then again, this is heavily dependent on the type of market he finds when March comes calling.
Potential Suitors: Jacksonville Jaguars, Indianapolis Colts, Denver Broncos, San Francisco 49ers, Green Bay Packers, Washington Redskins