Jonas Gray has taken the road less traveled to get his NFL shot. A part-time player in college at Notre Dame, Gray tore his ACL his senior year and went undrafted while he rehabbed into the 2013 season.
He spent time on several practice squads before catching on in New England last year, breaking out for 200 yards and 4 touchdowns in a Week 11 bout with Indianapolis. In that game, he displayed great burst and the ability to break tackles and earn yards after contact.
However, Gray found himself in Bill Belichick's doghouse just days after his breakout performance, oversleeping and missing a team meeting. And hell hath no furry like the Hoodie's scorn. He continued to play second (and sometimes third and fourth) fiddle to LeGarrette Blount for the rest of the season despite outperforming him in all of our NEP metrics.
Regardless, Gray reported to camp motivated and in shape, having dropped 10 pounds and looking quicker. And in case this is the first article of mine you are reading, full disclosure: I am #teamweightloss.
In limited work last season, Gray actually paced the NFL in Rushing NEP per rush for backs with more than 80 carries at 0.19, thanks to his hyper efficient game against the Colts. On 125 carries last year, Blount finished with -0.02, appreciable worse on a somewhat comparable workload.
Speaking of the Hoodie's scorn, Blount reported to camp this season out of shape, failing the team's condition test before spraining his MCL a week later. This preseason he has averaged a horrific 2.04 yards per carry on his 25 totes, while Gray has averaged 5.6 on 19 carries. Oh, and he's suspended for Week 1. Would it surprise anyone if he was the next occupant of the Patriots' doghouse?
While Gray won't be on the field on passing downs, which will limit his fantasy value, if Blount continues to blow his opportunities like he has (and like he did in Pittsburgh), Gray appears talented enough to make the most of it. A good Week 1 against what looks like a below average Steelers' defense could vault him into the starting role in a good offense.
Gray should clearly be receiving more love than he has, and I'm willing to spend a late pick on him in redraft to see if he can take advantage of his early opportunity.