The Patriots officially activated running back Sony Michel from the PUP list on Wednesday. It’s a promising sign for Michel, who was previously considered questionable for the start of the season. 
Michel underwent foot surgery earlier this year, prompting the Pats to sign Lamar Miller as additional insurance. Michel has undergone surgery in each of the last three offseasons, including knee operations in 2018 and ’19. This was less-than-ideal for the 25-year-old, especially after a so-so season. Michel surpassed 900 rushing yards for the second straight year and led the team in rushing, but he averaged just 3.7 yards per tote, down from 4.5 per carry as a rookie.
Had Michel remained on the PUP list to start the year, he would have been shelved for the first six weeks of the season. Now, he’s set to lead the pack once again, with support from Miller, James White, Rex Burkhead and Damien Harris. Brandon Bolden, meanwhile, will spend 2020 away from the team after opting out.
Welcome back!
Perfect. So that’s 95 running backs on the roster now, which one do I draft for my fantasy team than!?
Harris would be a nice sleeper. He’s been having an excellent training camp and most casual fans have never heard of him. White’s good for PPR, but otherwise I would stay away from this backfield
Between concussions, injuries, the possibility of a last minute scratch due to COVID testing or looking at Belichick the wrong way, I don’t see why people still complain about teams acquiring depth. This was an affordable gamble for them in real life and the 49ers just made it to the Super Bowl thanks to their 4th stringer/special teams expert.
But since you clearly articulated this was a fantasy gripe, I’d say it probably depends on when you draft. If it is in the next week, I think you could probably still get good value with Michel since the ADP and rankings probably will still be artificially lower due to the previous uncertainty of his status. If you draft closer to Labor Day, probably better to take late round flyer on the other guys. Michel will probably be fine overall, but NE has historically had the equivalent of a weekly roulette for fantasy RB production and I don’t think anyone would be shocked if any of them ended up being the hot hand for a couple weeks.
No reason not to think the Pat’s won’t spread the wealth. I think Harris will get a fair number of touches and Rex will to
I think Sony heard that Harris was crushing it in training camp and probably felt that he better get off the PUP at least before Miller or he won’t get any touches!
Sony is back, I like the runner, but he’ll break down as much as a Ford F-150.