From 2000 through 2017, the New England Patriots made a total of 157 picks in the NFL draft.
Running back was seldom one of them for Bill Belichick’s war room.
The Patriots called the names of only eight prospects at the position – if excluding fullbacks in Patrick Pass, Spencer Nead and Garrett Mills – over that span. The only teams to draft halfbacks as infrequently between 2000 and 2017 were the New Orleans Saints and Oakland Raiders.
But New England took a ninth last Thursday night.
In a place the organization had done so only once before under Belichick: the first round.