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Bishop Sankey’s Potential Patriots Fit

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The Patriots’ newest running back, Bishop Sankey is an exciting addition to a position group with a short-term job opening.

Sankey has played two seasons in Tennessee rushing 199 times for 762 yards and three TDs, while adding 32 receptions for 272 yards and one TD.

Sankey, a 2014 second round pick, will compete for a job as the Patriots 3rd-down back in Dion Lewis‘ immediate absence. James White, a 2014 fourth round pick, is the incumbent at the position. Rookie DJ Foster is hoping to compete for playing time, while Brandon Bolden could also see some reps although his primary role is on special teams.

After news broke of Dion Lewis’ PUP designation many questioned the Patriots front office decision to not draft a running back this year. However, the Patriots might have employed some calculated risk in this instance.

“There’s going to be, I don’t know, certainly going to be a lot of players, probably over 1,000 players that will be exposed to waivers in the next eight calendar days or whatever it’ll be,” Belichick stated this week. “I think the average claim is somewhere in the high 20s there…so that’s what the odds are.”

In this context, Belichick was speaking to releasing his own players, yet he also recognized lots of players become available this time of year, and that very few claims are typically made. Mike Reiss nailed this back on August 23, he even predicted Sankey’s availability.

Sankey played his college ball at Washington, where as a Junior he broke Corey Dillon’s single season rushing record with 1,870 yards. He added 300 yards receiving, while amassing 21 total touchdowns (20 rushing, one receiving).

One of the things I loved about Sankey was that he benched 225 lbs, 26 times, weighing only 210 lbs at his combine. That’s beastly. For context, Marshawn Lynch did 20 at his combine and weighed 215 lbs. Joey Iosefa did 30 but weighed 247 lbs.

Sankey’s ability to gain steady yards on the ground, while also providing the team a viable passing option, embody the versatility that the Patriots covet in running backs. Some of the past prototypes for theses skills would include Kevin Faulk, Shane Vereen and even Danny Woodhead to an extent.

Sankey has great vision and can follow his blocks. He’s not going to create holes for himself, but he can find daylight when it’s there. If the Patriots are going to have multiple tight ends and fullbacks on the field Sankey could flourish. Given Sankey’s impressive strength I think he might have more potential to run between the tackles than we saw in Tennessee.

Sankey’s also just enough of a threat to catch the ball that it should keep opposing defenses honest with their personnel decisions. He looks smooth when adjusting to throws on the run and showed an ability to turn the ball up field and find the pylon.

One concern is that Sankey fumbled three times in just two years of limited use on the Titans. Granted one came on a kickoff return, but ball security is job security in New England.

One play I didn’t GIF that impressed me came against the Patriots in 2015. Zach Mettenberger threw a pick to Jamie Collins at midfield that looked like a potential pick-six. Sankey sprinted 40+ yards back towards his own goal line to make the TD-saving tackle.

I’m excited to see what Sankey can do with the Patriots. I think he’s an upgrade to White and Foster. My hope is that he’ll win the job before Dion Lewis returns. However, his usage will hinge on Lewis’ performance once healthy. If nothing else, Sankey represents a nice insurance policy running back for New England.