Morning Sports Update

Patriots reportedly ‘absolutely intrigued’ by Bijan Robinson ahead of NFL Draft

Could New England pick another "blue-chip back" for the offense?

Bijan Robinson Patriots
Bijan Robinson runs through a drill at the rookie scouting combine in March. AP Photo/Darron Cummings

By Hayden Bird

The Celtics defeated the Raptors 97-93 on Wednesday. Malcolm Brogdon led the team with 29 points.

The Red Sox were swept by the Pirates, losing the final game 4-1. Boston will be in Detroit to play the Tigers at 1:10 p.m. today.

Tonight, the Bruins host the Maple Leafs at 7 p.m.

The Patriots and the possibility of a running back: Though most of the recent Patriots mock drafts have projected some version of a wide receiver, a cornerback, or an offensive lineman, could Bill Belichick spring a surprise on April 27?

In a new report from Jeff Howe of The Athletic, he explained that New England could be interested in a running back while giving an overview of offseason moves.

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“[The Patriots] opted for more explosion in the slot with JuJu Smith-Schuster over Jakobi Meyers, and they traded tight end Jonnu Smith before adding Mike Gesicki,” wrote Howe. “They’re building the running game around Rhamondre Stevenson and have quietly shown interest in adding another blue-chip back in the draft.”

The interest in a “blue-chip back” is intriguing, given that only one running back is currently projected to by selected in the first round: Bijan Robinson from Texas.

Robinson, 21, was a unanimous All-American and won the Doak Walker Award in 2022, given to the best running back in college football. He finished the season with 1,580 yards (averaging 6.1 yards per carry) and scored 20 total touchdowns for the Longhorns last season. He’s noted for his change of direction despite being 220 pounds, and ran a 4.46 40-yard dash time at the rookie combine.

Howe later tweeted, “The Patriots are absolutely intrigued by Bijan Robinson.”

The Patriots currently hold the 14th overall pick, which should mean that Robinson will still be on the board at that point in the draft.

Of course, New England doesn’t appear to need a running back, given the presence of Stevenson.

The 25-year-old, picked in the fourth round in the 2021 draft, ran for 1,040 yards and caught 69 passes in the recent season. He was also drafted in very different circumstances, given that Pro Football Focus (which places Robinson as its top back this year) did not rank Stevenson in its top-10 in 2021.

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Trivia: Two running backs were picked in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft. Can you name both of them?

(Answer at the bottom).

Hint: They came from Alabama and Clemson.

More from Boston.com:

Malcolm Brogdon on the possibility of winning the Sixth Man of the Year Award: Jayson Tatum has made his thoughts clear on the matter as well.

On this day: In 1989, the Bruins rallied from a 3-0 second period deficit to eventually defeat the Sabres 5-3 in Game 2 of the Adams Division Semi-Finals. Boston tied the series 1-1, and went on to advance in five games.

1989 Boston Globe Bruins Sabres

Daily highlight: Seamus Power hit back-to-back hole-in-ones in the Par 3 Contest at Augusta National on Wednesday.

Trivia answer: Najee Harris, Travis Etienne

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