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The injury bug has enjoyed sweeping through the NFL and specifically New England this season. LaGarrette Blount joins a long list of fantasy-point-producers that will now be sidelined for the remainder of the season, while Brandon Bolden and James White join another list of those with sudden increased fantasy value and emergent opportunities.
Bolden will step in as starting tailback and will likely receive all the early-down workload. According to ESPN.com, Bolden has been praised by both head coach, Bill Belichick, and offensive coordinator, Josh McDaniels.
"Brandon has a real good skill set. He has been a valuable guy for us on all four downs, so whether it’s carrying the ball, making tough yards, playing as a sub back and playing in the kicking game, he’s shown a lot of versatility and given us a lot of quality plays in all those situations," said Belichick.
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"Brandon’s a talented guy. He’s had a lot of different situations come up during the course of his career here, whether through injury or otherwise. He’s really done a nice job for us coming in and filling in, and he’s gone over 100 yards," added McDaniels.
Being in the good graces of the two controlling New England's high powered offense is always a good thing. Bolden has never been the go-to guy, but the Patriots face the lowly Tennessee Titans this week where the defending champs could find themselves up big early, focusing on the run game to rest Brady's aging arm and legs for yet another playoff run. Tennessee's run defense is mediocre, relinquishing 111.5 rushing yards a game, along with four yards a carry. Bolden is a borderline RB2, teetering a RB3 line. He is a safer stash but isn't a bad option in a desperation or FLEX start.
White will also inherit more carries and will probably be featured as New England's third down and passing-down back. He was out-carried by Bolden with eight fewer touches last week but did score a goal line touchdown. He has scored in three of his last four games.
It's difficult to trust committee-based running backs but it's always easier when they're playing for the Patriots. White has also received high praise from the Patriots locker room. According to Mass Live, Tom Brady stated that "he's (White) earned everybody's trust, not just mine...He's very dependable, consistent."
As long as you say so, Tom. Two weeks ago, White exploded with ten catches for 115 yards and a score. White should only ever be used in PPR leagues, but neither him or Bolden are a bad play. White is probably already stashed away on most lineups but should be considered against a Titans team that has given up the third most receiving touchdowns in the league with 28.
