Mac Jones describes what Ezekiel Elliott has brought to the Patriots so far appeared in the original NBC Sports Boston
The New England Patriots haven’t seen Ezekiel Elliott take a snap for them in an actual game yet, but according to starting quarterback Mac Jones, the veteran running back is already making a strong impact with his new team.
“I just talk and sit with him, he’s amazing. He’s just a great guy,” Jones said for WEEI’s “Jones and Mego” Monday afternoon. “I feel he will add a lot not only on the field but off the field as well.
“He’s a great leader. He really brings juice to practices, and I love that about him. We definitely have a lot of things we want to work on together, but he really works hard on the playbook and everything.”
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The Patriots now have tremendous running depth with starters Ramonder Stephenson and Elliott and second-year players Pierre Strong Jr. and Kevin Harris. Jones impressed with the entire group during camp and the first two preseason games.
“Monder is doing a great job, and all the running back room. I think (linebackers coach) Vinnie (Sanseri) is doing a great job keeping everyone at that level,” Jones said.
“There’s not much of a disconnect between the guys, which I like. You’re there with one guy, and there’s a different guy, but you know they know what they have to do and you have faith in every single one of them.”
Elliott officially signed his one-year contract with the Patriots last week and participated in combined workouts against the Packers. He only participated in defenseless practices on Wednesday, but participated in the team’s regular practice against the Packers’ defense on Thursday.
The 28-year-old did not play in Saturday’s win at Lambeau Field. It would make sense for him to get some repeats for the final preseason game against the Tennessee Titans on Friday night, but the Patriots have yet to announce if he’ll be dressing for that game.