RB Sony Michel - New England Patriots

5-11, 222

Born: 2-17-1995

College: Georgia

Drafted: Round 1, pick 2018

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Photo: Jay Biggerstaff, US Presswire

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Week 14: vs Kansas City Chiefs

All RB vs KC

FBG says: Great matchup. For the third time in four games, the Patriots have gone away from the running game and Sony Michel in particular as he now has 10 carries or less in three of his last four contests. What is interesting about this is that the Patriots did not abandon the running game as their running backs ran the ball a total of 27 times last week it was just that James White had 14 of those carries which was the first time that White has had double-digit carries in a game in over a year. While this could be game script dependent as the Patriots fell behind early, it does mark a shift that the Patriots are ultimately looking for playmakers to step up in this offense. The Chiefs rushing defense has been a problem all season. Even in a game that they won 40-7 last week, they allowed Josh Jacobs to rack up 104 yards which was the seventh time that a running back has rushed for 99 yards or more on the season. The issue for the Chiefs is that they are a team designed to stop the pass as they have one of the worst run-stopping front sevens in football as linebackers Anthony Hitchens and Damien Wilson have both struggled with gap discipline and the defensive ends in Frank Clark and Tanoh Kpassagnon specialize in the pass rush. This is a team that on the year has allowed the second-highest yards-per-carry to running backs at 5.1.

Recent Stats and Projections

WEEK	OPP		oSNAP	RSH	YD	TD	TARG	REC	YD	TD	FumL	Pts
11	at PHI		22	10	33	0	4	2.0	11	0	0	4.4
12	vs DAL		36	20	85	0	0	0.0	0	0	0	8.5
13	at HOU		15	10	45	0	0	0.0	0	0	0	4.5
14	vs KC	PROJ-Dodds	*	14	*	*		0.9	*	*	*	*
14	vs KC	PROJ-Tremblay	*	14	*	*		1.0	*	*	*	*
14	vs KC	PROJ-Bloom	*	14	*	*		1.0	*	*	*	*

Weekly Performance vs RB 1, RB 12, RB 24, RB 36

Percentile ranks

Sony Michel's percentile rank in each category, among RB with more than 50 fantasy points.

Recent Game Summaries

2019 Week 13 vs HOU (10 / 45 / 0 rush, 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 rec)

Once again, Sony Michel looked decent, particularly on the first drive of the game. However, the coaching staff went away from the run game for some reason, and the Patriots were forced to go into passing mode for most of the second half. He's been better the past few weeks, and hopefully he gets more consistency in touches.

2019 Week 12 vs DAL (20 / 85 / 0 rush, 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 rec)

Sony Michel may have been the best skill player on the field, which is not something we've said this year. He displayed good vision and decisiveness, and picked up more than was blocked on several runs. The Dallas line did beat the New England line on several occasions, but Michel was still the most reliable player. That's something.

2019 Week 11 vs PHI (10 / 33 / 0 rush, 4 / 2 / 11 / 0 rec)

Against a good Eagles defensive front, Michel was bottled up, and his lack of skill wasn't able to make up for a tepid day at the office. He got nothing going besides a good cutback run of 10+ yards in the first half. This was a good example of how Michel can be phased out of a game, as James White had more targets + carries than Michel did, and even Rex Burkhead got in on some of the action. Michel is a low-floor touchdown or bust option in fantasy on most weeks, and will continue to be game script dependent.

2019 Week 9 vs BAL (4 / 18 / 0 rush, 2 / 1 / 12 / 0 rec)

Part of the problem with Sony Michel is his one-dimensional nature. In games where the Pats have to pass, Michel won't do anything, and this was the case against the Ravens, who went up early and forced the Pats to go into throw mode. He should see more touches in future games, but it's a reminder of his limited perceived skillset.

2019 Week 8 vs CLE (21 / 74 / 0 rush, 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 rec)

Though Sony Michel was once again a shell of his 2018 self, he did make a couple good runs that won't show up on the stat sheet. His vision seemed better this game than in other games, with tough running at times behind an offensive line that wasn't beating the Cleveland defensive line on most plays. Michel was also making better cuts upfield than in games prior. He didn't get many opportunities to score in this game, though he was stuffed at the 1 yard line at one point. For better or worse, he didn't do anything to dissuade the notion he's still the early down guy going forward.

2019 Week 7 vs NYJ (19 / 42 / 3 rush, 2 / 1 / -8 / 0 rec)

Once again, he didn't run particularly well, but Sony Michel salvaged his stat line with 3 short touchdowns. Two of them were 1 yard touchdowns and one was a 3 yard touchdown, so they weren't huge plays. In fact, on one of the scores, he was absolutely stonewalled on first and second down and barely managed the score on third down. Michel also had a blatant drop on a designed screen that may have been a potential touchdown. It doesn't appear there is a backfield change in the offing as Damien Harris only saw time when Sony Michel banged knees towards the end of the game, but reports seem positive. He's still the volume and gamescript guy til we see otherwise.

2019 Week 6 vs NYG (22 / 86 / 0 rush, 3 / 2 / 27 / 0 rec)

Once again, it was a relatively ordinary day from Sony Michel. His biggest highlight was that he had touchdowns "vulture" by Brandon Bolden and his quarterback. Besides last week, he hasn't looked the part, and one wonders when "borrowed time" starts to turn into reality. The only good news for fantasy owners was volume.

2019 Week 5 vs WAS (16 / 91 / 1 rush, 3 / 3 / 32 / 0 rec)

This game had "Sony game" written all over it with the Pats being large favorites and Rex Burkhead sitting out. Michel responded with what was by far his best game of the season, getting decent gains on many carries and even working himself into the passing game with 3 catches. Michel was getting good blocking and still doesn't look "explosive", but the difference was his vision and patience, which were much better than his prior few weeks. His touchdown was a 14 yard score which was again a good display of vision and a nice cut outside. With that said, once Rex Burkhead is healthy, he will no doubt eat into some of Michel's carries, and not every game will be a coast to the finish.

2019 Week 4 vs BUF (17 / 63 / 0 rush, 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 rec)

The Patriots made a concerted effort to try to get Sony Michel going, but funny enough, the bad passing game actually affected him negatively at times. While he looked better than in prior weeks, offensive line blocking was better in the run game, and he had his ups and downs, particularly in the vision area. With all that said, he didn't play himself out of a job like some suspected he would, especially against a defense of the Bills caliber. Michel will continue to be involved going forward, but will be game script and pace dependent.

2019 Week 3 vs NYJ (9 / 11 / 1 rush, 1 / 0 / 0 / 0 rec)

Sony Michel isn't right. For the third straight week, Michel plodded his way forward whenever he got the ball, and barely played a quarter of the snaps when all was said and done. He did find the end zone on a short touchdown, but his box score of 1.2 yards per carry is indicative of how he has been playing. In fact, the Patriots were completely pass heavy out of the gate, a sign they know Michel has been struggling as the first carry of the game was his touchdown. He'll need to pick it up or he risks losing even more touches.

2019 Week 2 vs MIA (21 / 85 / 1 rush, 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 rec)

To no one's surprise, the Pats made a concerted effort to run the ball against the Dolphins, especially since the game was out of hand by the second half. Behind a makeshift offensive line for much of the game, Michel looked relatively ordinary, though again, blocking was hit-or-miss. His lone touchdown was of the short variety for the first score of the game, and was a relatively easy one. His biggest blemish was a fumble, though Belichick didn't bench him for the error. Unsurprisingly, Michel was not involved in the passing game, and though his usage should remain consistent as the Pats look to balance their attack in games, it's a reminder that he won't play in hurry-up or pass-heavy games.

2019 Week 1 vs PIT (15 / 14 / 0 rush, 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 rec)

You could call this a dud for Michel, who didn't do much of anything despite great game script. On the positive side, he did see touches. On the negative side, he split plenty of time with James White and Rex Burkhead. There weren't huge holes in terms of running room, but he didn't do much with what was given, looking fairly ordinary. He did not, however, look injured or held back, so this may be one to chalk up to rough play. Better days are likely ahead, especially given the look of this offense.

Latest News

Patriots | Sony Michel rushes for 45 yards (Mon Dec 2, 02:34 AM) - New England Patriots RB Sony Michel had 10 carries for 45 yards in Week 13 against the Houston Texans.

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Patriots | Sony Michel logs 20 carries (Mon Nov 25, 12:17 AM) - New England Patriots RB Sony Michel ran for 85 yards on 20 carries in Week 12 against the Dallas Cowboys.

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Schedule

14	vs Kansas City Chiefs
15	@ Cincinnati Bengals
16	vs Buffalo Bills
17	vs Miami Dolphins