With the 2018 season in the books, The Providence Journal will take a look at each position group on the Patriots, analyzing how the team performed last year and where it might be heading in the future. Today we look at running backs.

Running backs: Sony Michel, James White, Rex Burkhead, Jeremy Hill, James Develin

Contract situation: The Patriots are set up nicely at the running back position for the next couple of seasons. [...]

With the 2018 season in the books, The Providence Journal will take a look at each position group on the Patriots, analyzing how the team performed last year and where it might be heading in the future. Today we look at running backs.

Running backs: Sony Michel, James White, Rex Burkhead, Jeremy Hill, James Develin

Contract situation: The Patriots are set up nicely at the running back position for the next couple of seasons.

Michel enters 2019 in the second year of his rookie deal. He’ll account for $2,187,885 in 2019, $2,625,462 in 2020 and around $3.063 million in 2010. A first-round pick, the Patriots will also have a fifth-year option for Michel in 2022.

White has two years left on his most recent three-year extension. The third-down back will count as a $4.5-million cap hit in 2019. That number stays the same in 2020. Burkhead is in the same boat. After signing a three-year deal last offseason, he’ll count for a $3-million cap hit in 2019 and then a $4-million cap hit in 2020.

Both White and Burkhead will be unrestricted free agents in 2021. The same goes for Develin. The Pats fullback will count as a $1.7-million cap hit in 2019 and then a $1.9-million cap hit in 2020.

Hill enters this offseason as an unrestricted free agent.

2018 review: The Patriots had so much depth at running back that they ended training camp by cutting veterans Mike Gillislee and Brandon Bolden.

That depth, however, quickly dissipated. Hill suffered a torn ACL in his first game with the Patriots. Michel missed almost all of training camp due to a knee injury and the first game of the season. Burkhead landed on the injured reserve with a neck injury in Week 4. The Patriots brought in Kenjon Barner and he played five games, rushing for 71 yards.

Michel started to get once he returned. He rushed for 112, 98 and 106 yards in three straight games from Weeks 4-6. A knee injury, again, slowed him down in Week 7. That’s when the Patriots leaned on an in-house source to help the run game.

Cordarrelle Patterson picked up the load and was the Patriots' leading rusher in Week 8 and Week 9. He finished the season with a career-high 228 rushing yards.

When Michel returned, he continued to have a fantastic rookie year. The first-round pick led the Patriots with 931 rushing yards and six touchdowns. He was even better in the playoffs, rushing for 336 yards and scoring an NFL rookie record six touchdowns on the ground. Michel scored the only touchdown in Super Bowl LIII.

White put together the finest season for a receiving back in Patriots history. He set records for receptions (87) and receiving yards (751). He tied the record for the most receiving touchdowns (seven). White also rushed for a career-high 425 yards and five rushing touchdowns.

Burkhead rushed for just 186 yards in eight games, but was efficient in the playoffs where he scored three rushing touchdowns, including the game-winner in overtime in the AFC Championship Game.

Develin rushed for a career-high four touchdowns in 2018. He was the lead blocker for every Patriots rushing touchdown in the playoffs. He wasn’t named to the Pro Bowl and has a case for the Patriots' biggest snub.

The future: The Patriots are well stocked for the 2019 season.

With Michel, Burkhead and White under contract, the Patriots need to add only a couple of players for insurance and depth. As was seen last season, it might not be a bad idea to carry four running backs on the roster.

Hill was able to beat out Gillislee and Bolden last summer. Bringing the veteran back this offseason might make sense. Typically, the Patriots will bring in several undrafted free-agent running backs. A couple of veteran minimum signings could also fill out the depth chart. Patterson is also a free agent, so he’s not guaranteed to be back.

It would be a surprise to see the Patriots draft another running back, but with the injury histories of Michel and Burkhead, you can’t discount a late-round flyer.