Patriots Beat: Players 'impressed' with Shane Vereen in early-down and short-yardage situations

Patriots players tell me they weren't happy with the way they ran the ball in the season opener and there will be a concerted effort to improve in that area Sunday in Minnesota. Shane Vereen (61 snaps) was the primary running back in the opener over Stevan Ridley (22 snaps) and Brandon Bolden (nine snaps). The team wants to feed that group a bit more, starting with Vereen. Players were impressed with how Vereen performed in early-down and short-yardage situations in the opener. Look for him to get more opportunities in those situations this week.

Fantasy Impact: 

Vereen saw seven carries compared to Ridley's eight, which is more even than we were expecting heading into the season. This is great news for longtime 4for4 favorite Vereen, who is already a high-end RB2 in PPR formats without the extra carries. If he starts to get consistent looks in the running game (including red zone work, like he did in Week 1), watch out.

Read more
today
DeVonta Smith
Tee Higgins
Apr 12
C.J. Uzomah

Patriots news