The fullback position has always been part of the Patriots offensive DNA. Look back no further than 2019 for proof.
New England's offense found itself in a defensive struggle when Patriots Hall of Famer Tom Brady took the field in a 3-3 stalemate with 9:49 left to go in Super Bowl LIII.
To this point in the game, the Patriots and Rams defenses had dominated, a surprise with LA's top-ranked offense facing New England's high-powered offense quarterbacked by the greatest of all time. Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels was searching for a way to crack legendary defensive guru Wade Phillips's game plan when he went deep into his bag of tricks to help propel the Patriots to their sixth Lombardi Trophy with one great offensive drive.
McDaniels had the Patriots break the huddle in 22-personnel: two backs, two tight ends, and only one receiver. Los Angeles then put its base defense on the field with just four defensive backs, expecting the Patriots to run the ball. Instead, Brady and McDaniels spread out the Rams big personnel in an inverted empty formation, where FB James Develin and RB Rex Burkhead were lined out wide at receiver, while the Pats two best playmakers were in the slot, where McDaniels knew they'd see linebackers in coverage.
New England then ran one of its staple plays three consecutive times, with gains of 7, 13, and 27 yards, which set up the game-winning (and only) touchdown. The play call was HOSS Juke, with Brady throwing the ball to fellow Patriots Hall of Famer Julian Edelman on the juke route and TE Rob Gronkowski on the seam for the biggest play of Super Bowl LIII;a sequence that shows perfectly how the fullback can be an extremely valuable chess piece on offense.
"We won Super Bowl LIII by catching the Rams in a tight spot where they were matching our 22-personnel with big people. So we just spread it out and we went five-wide the entire drive. Tom hit Gronk down to the 1-yard line, we got in goal line, punched it in, and that was the deciding factor," said three-time Super Bowl champion James Develin. "It was the 19th game of the season and they got caught not being totally prepared for something we had available to us. It really speaks to Josh [McDaniels]'s creativity and ability to scheme things up."
Develin knows a thing or two about making a big impact on offense as a fullback, whether it was by out-witting opponents with unique personnel groupings and formations or leading the way for the Patriots running game. As he did for seven seasons in New England, Develin sees the vision for free-agent addition Reggie Gilliam to have a similar impact for the Patriots, bringing the physicality and creative two-back groupings back to Foxborough next season.
"The fullback fraternity is a pretty small one, so we're always looking out for each other and showing respect where respect is due. I'm happy that Reggie found a new home. I'm very biased, but I think the Patriots offense runs at its best when there's a fullback involved," Develin said. "Being able to run two-back runs, it declares you as a tough football team and that's something Josh wants to be as an offense; a tough football team that doesn't make mistakes."
During his introductory press conference with the Patriots earlier this month, Gilliam said he is good friends with Develin through his work with the NFLPA and the fullback fraternity. Develin is now enjoying retirement and works as a player manager for the players' association to stay around the game.
"I'm good friends with James now. We've talked a lot. He's had nothing but great things to say about New England. Obviously, growing up watching the whole era of the Patriots being the greatest team ever, Josh McDaniels knows how to use a fullback. I'm excited to see what he does with me," Gilliam told reporters.
Although he was a valuable lead-blocker in his own right, Develin believes that Gilliam's athleticism will allow him to bring even more versatility to the Patriots offense.
"Looking back on my career, I was a little bit one-dimensional. I was focusing on run blocking and occasionally catching a ball here and there. Reggie can do it all. He's a tenacious run blocker, he can carry the ball, he can catch the ball out of the backfield, and then when he has the ball in his hands, he can do something with it. He can make people miss and do some nice things with the ball in his hands," Develin said. "I'm just happy to see that he made it to New England and I think New England made a great choice. He's a great fullback."
With conventional wisdom suggesting that professional football is mostly about quarterbacks and the passing game, fullbacks often get lost in the discussion. However, there are several strategic advantages to deploying a fullback, as the Patriots game-winning drive in Super Bowl LIII can attest. Along with creating personnel mismatches against defenses, fullbacks also have advantageous blocking angles and timing in the run game. Plus, as Develin stated, there's a physical play demeanor that having a fullback on the field creates.
"At the end of the day, we're lining up 10 yards from a guy, and they have to take us on. It's nice to have a tough piece of an offensive scheme and that's one thing I always hung my hat on," Develin said. "It can get as complicated as you want to get, as far as angles, schemes, and how the offensive line distributes [their blocks]. It just allows for an extra second coming out of the backfield to decipher everything. You have that extra five-yard buffer."
The Patriots are also not the only team rostering a fullback, a resurgence that Develin is enjoying. According to Pro Football Focus, Gilliam was the highest-rated fullback in the NFL last season, but other highly regarded lead-blockers such as Kyle Juszczyk, Patrick Ricard, and Alec Ingold are helping keep fullbacks relevant across the NFL. Develin, of course, is fully on board with Gilliam and the fullback revival in the NFL.
"I've been saying this since I made the switch to fullback. Things shifted where Tom's catching the world on fire throwing to Randy Moss down the field, and everything got spread out. Defenses got smaller, faster and more versatile. The offensive scheme continued to get more and more into a space game," Develin explained. "Offenses can now zag the other way. It's like, well, now you have a 220-pound linebacker on the field. If I put a 260-pound fullback on the field, what are you going to do to stop us?
"The more the game ebbs away from two-back runs and big offensive personnel running the ball, the more value the fullback position gains because defenses aren't ready for it. So it's just the constant cyclical nature of the game of football, which is a beautiful thing," Develin said.
The Patriots have a long, successful lineage of fullbacks. Develin sees Gilliam taking the torch and running with it.
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