New Sheriff In Town?

With the injury to Stevan Ridley for the New England Patriots this week a door may have opened for another running back to come in and produce both for the Pats and your fantasy team. Let's take a closer look at Jonas Gray.

Image source nesn.com

Attending Notre Dame for college, Gray was nothing exceptional during his college years. He has a history of knee issues, and missed some games as a result. In his senior season, Gray had 114 carries and ran for 791 yards, an average of 6.9 yards per carry. He also scored 12 touchdowns in his final season with the Irish. He made 6 catches for 38 yards that season as well.

Gray was signed by Miami after going undrafted in 2012. He was unable to work out at the combine, and when signed by the Dolphins was placed on the physically unable to perform list to rehab a knee injury. He was cut by the Dolphins at the end of training camp, and signed to the Baltimore Ravens practice squad in September of 2013. In January of 2014 Gray signed with the Patriots practice squad and today was signed to the active roster to replace Ridley.

According to the NFL.com combine section Gray is a seen as a good short yardage and goal line back. He is a north south runner who can hit a hole and gain some yardage if it is there. He is not going to break outside and try to turn the corner and has no wiggle to make you miss. Seen as a possible check down route for his quarterback, Gray may have that change of pace third down ability for an offense. He is a big bulky back, and strong having put up 20 reps at 225 pounds. Ahead and through you will be his course with the ball.

If you are struggling at the running back position, Gray is worth an add. I wouldn't play him tonight against the New York Jets, as we have no information on his planned usage, if any. If he gets in and gets hot, he may become the go to guy for the Patriots on running downs. The usage of Brandon Bolden on special teams, and the healthy scratches of James White so far this season seem to lend themselves to the idea that Gray may get a shot to win himself this job. The Pats backfield is often times a quagmire, but if you are relying on backs like Matt Asiata, Trent Richardson, or Storm Johnson to name a few, it might be worth a shot to grab and stash Gray just in case.