The Patriots have been telegraphing the idea that they wanted to add a running back, and they finally did so by signing Elliott to complement Rhamondre Stevenson.
Elliott shouldn’t touch Stevenson’s receiving workload in 2023, and Stevenson will likely still get the first crack on early downs – but as we saw in Zeke’s time in Dallas, there’s a good chance that he steps in to vulture a not-irrelevant amount of work in the red zone and at the goal line. That likely won’t be enough to cripple Stevenson’s value and prevent him from finishing as an RB1 – however, this signing likely means that we can kiss the dreams of Rhamondre Stevenson finishing as a Top-5 RB goodbye.
The Patriots' offense likely won’t be making it rain touchdowns this season, and added competition hurts Stevenson’s upside much more than it does his fantasy floor.