Rhamondre Stevenson Contract Shows Patriots Ditching Bill Belichick Way

The New England Patriots paying running back Rhamondre Stevenson shows the franchise is ditching the methods of former head coach Bill Belichick. At least in one key area of team building.

Stevenson received a four-year contract extension worth $36 million on Thursday, June 20, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. The latter also reported the new deal includes “a total of $12M available in incentives based on reaching at least 1,400 yards and becoming a Pro Bowler or All-Pro.”

Whether that figure is attainable for a lead back on a rebuilding offense is open for debate. What is clear is the Patriots are moving on from the way Belichick did things.

Specifically, de facto general manager Eliot Wolf and new head coach Jerod Mayo are retaining homegrown talent in a way Belichick rarely did during his final decade at the helm. For homegrown, read players drafted and developed by the Patriots.

Stevenson, the team’s fourth-round pick in the 2021 NFL draft, is the latest player who started his career in New England and gets to prolong his stay at Gillette Stadium. The other members of the group include offensive lineman Mike Onwenu, taken in Round 6 in 2020, along with safety Kyle Dugger, a second-rounder that same year.

Dugger’s new contract broke an unwanted streak after Belichick hadn’t “re-signed a player he drafted in the first three rounds since 2013 (Duron Harmon),” according to Chad Graff of The Athletic.

Re-upping Stevenson is the latest sign the Patriots will be more about the draft in the post-Belichick era. As ESPN’s Mike Reiss noted, “Wolf said the Patriots want to be known as a ‘draft and develop’ team.”

Rhamondre Stevenson a Rare Recent Draft Success for Patriots

Getting a 1,000-yard rusher in the middle rounds three years ago represents a rare recent draft success for the Patriots. Belichick’s final years in charge were defined more by the acquisition of established talent via free agency.

Belichick was never shy about looking to the veteran market for help, but his record of finding solid contributors became patchy. While players like safety Jabrill Peppers and edge-rusher Matthew Judon made the grade, wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster and tight end Jonnu Smith struggled.

It was left to draftees like Onwenu, defensive tackle Christian Barmore and Stevenson to be the rare standouts on losing teams. Stevenson has been among the most productive players at his position with 4.5 yards per carry during three seasons in the pros, per StatMuse NFL.

The Patriots need the newly minted Stevenson to continue the same way. Especially when top draft pick, quarterback Drake Maye is finally ready to start.

Stevenson’s presence in the backfield will help, but Maye will also be able to lean on a player acquired by a method Belichick still performed well, even in his final season.

Bill Belichick’s Way Still Worked in One Area

Belichick stayed adept at finding hidden value from the draft’s later rounds. Longtime sportswriter Rick Gosselin wrote on his own site how “Belichick owned the second day of his drafts. When other teams were drafting on automatic pilot, Belichick was adding building blocks for the six Super Bowls his Patriots would win at New England.”

The track record involved finding Tom Brady, Julian Edelman and James White. Even Belichick’s last season in charge yielded wideout DeMario Douglas in the sixth round.

Douglas became a franchise record-holder for receiving yards as a rookie during the Belichick era. The ability of Belichick to pluck NFL-ready talent from unlikely sources often gave the Patriots an edge over the competition.

That edge will be missed, so it makes sense for Wolf and Mayo to secure the futures of the last few Belichick-chosen success stories, including Stevenson.