New England took the same approach in 2011, taking running backs Shane Vereen and Stevan Ridley in the second and third rounds, respectively. That's starting to look like a pretty good move, too. (photo: jdn, Flickr)
Vereen caught two touchdown passes and rushed for another in the Patriots' Divisional Round playoff win over the Houston Texans Sunday. Meanwhile, Ridley ran for 82 yards and a score.
“We have a lot of faith in those guys and they did a great job," Patriots guard Logan Mankins said after the game, via Patriots.com."Vereen had some nice runs and that awesome catch – that was a heck of a catch. You see Ridley how hard he was running in the fourth quarter trying to move the pile, trying to get first downs, so those guys did a good job.”
Ridley is coming off a stellar season in which he rushed for 1,263 yards and 12 touchdowns. Meanwhile, Vereen was better than serviceable in 2012 in limited time and has proven to be a formidable weapon in the passing game when given the opportunity.
I'm certainly not putting the Ridley-Vereen tandem at the same level as Gronkowski-Hernandez, but it's worth noting the similar approach the Patriots took when attacking a certain position in the draft and how it has materialized.
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