The Patriots have signed rookie running back Sony Michel, as Ben Volin of the Boston Globe tweets. Ian Rapoport of NFL.com was the first to report that the two sides had agreed to terms (Twitter link). New England selected Michel with the No. 31 overall pick in this year’s draft, and the club now has its entire 2018 draft class under contract.
Michel may have been outcarried by Nick Chubb during his last two seasons on campus, but he still got plenty of touches and was pretty dynamic with the ball in his hands. In 2017, Michel rushed for 1,227 yards on a whopping 7.9 yards per carry (to go along with 16 TDs), and he was taken four picks higher than Chubb in the draft. Although it is notoriously difficult to project how New England will distribute touches among its running backs, Michel is likely to get more carries than anyone else on the roster. Indeed, as Rapoport tweets, the Patriots rarely select an RB in the first round, and they clearly have big plans for Michel.
Michel will lead a group that also includes Rex Burkhead and James White, though the running back room could soon be without Mike Gillislee. Gillislee will battle with Jeremy Hill and Brandon Bolden for a spot at the bottom of the Patriots’ RB depth chart.
As the No. 31 pick, Michel’s contract is a four-year pact that is worth just shy of $10MM and that carries a team option for a fifth season. He joins former Georgia teammate Isaiah Wynn as one of the Patriots’ two 2018 first-round selections, and he could be running behind Wynn as early as Week 1.
There are now nine unsigned first-round picks remaining from this year’s class.
Who are the nine?