What is your favorite position in football? If you were to ask around, you would hear a lot of “quarterback”, “running back”, and “wide receiver”. You might even hear some “linebacker” or “cornerback”. You know, the glory positions. But if I’m asking little Timmy in Pop Warner Football what position he wants to be, odds are I am not going to hear “fullback”.

No disrespect to fullbacks, but does anyone actually seek out the position by choice? Rather it seems like a position one ends up finding themselves in.

In modern day football, the fullback is used primarily for blocking duties. The fullback will either block for the quarterback or the running back. Occasionally the fullback will carry the ball or even catch a pass. Back in the day, fullbacks were essentially power backs. By that, I mean that fullbacks were big running backs used for their ability to just run straight through the line. Old smashmouth football basically; just run down your opponents throat. And even before that, fullbacks served as punters and drop kickers. Can you believe how much info you can find on Wikipedia?

In modern day football, many teams have started to move away from using a true fullback or using a fullback altogether. However, Bill Belichick has a thing for the history of the game. Due to this, the New England Patriots still use a fullback in their offensive scheme as a blocking back. Enter, James Develin. Aside from being a fullback for the Patriots, Develin also has a super dope middle name: Rittenhouse. That middle name just screams class.

Develin fits the Patriots “Misfits” theme. The “Misfits” is an article for another day but essentially I mean that no one else wanted the guy. James went undrafted and played in the Arena Football League and United Football League before landing with the Bengals. After being cut, the Patriots picked up Rittenhouse (love saying that) in 2010. Develin has been with the Patriots ever since.

Anyway, enough history. Being a fullback is usually not a glamor spot. 98% of the time the fullback is there to do some sort of blocking. Also, do not quote me on that percentage, I am just making a point. Last I checked, blocks are not a stat that is recorded. So it is hard to see just how much of an impact Develin has on the Patriots. Instead, let’s look at the Patriots’ rushing stats this year compared to last year.

In 2015 James Develin broke his tibia in a preseason game. Due to the injury, Develin missed the entire season. Coincidentally the Patriots ranked 30th in the league in rushing offense in 2015, according to ESPN. However, this season the Patriots ranked 7th in the league in rushing offense, again according to ESPN. Although there are several factors that contribute to the Patriots newfound running success, it is not a stretch to say that Develin has had an impact on the running game.

As a matter of fact, Pro Football Focus graded Develin as the second best fullback in the league. Actually, Develin is only behind Kyle Juszczyk, fullback for the Ravens. Juszczyk made the Pro Bowl this year and is arguably more involved as an offensive asset in the Ravens scheme.

Top-graded fullbacks in the NFL

1. Kyle Juszczyk, Ravens, 87.9

2. James Develin, Patriots, 85.3

3. Aaron Ripkowski, Packers, 84.3 pic.twitter.com/YtEr8W7AM5

— Pro Football Focus (@PFF) January 20, 2017

Being a fullback, Develin’s job is to block for the running back. In this case, the running back is usually LeGarrette Blount. Blount is enjoying his best season since his rookie year. The big bruising back is leading the league in rushing touchdowns with 18 and has recorded his second 1,000 yard season. Again, there are many things contributing to Blount’s success this season. However, the return of James Develin is definitely one of the more obvious ones.

Many believed that Blount was not the answer to the Patriots rushing woes. I’ll be honest, I did not really believe in Blount before the season started. However, the writing was on the wall during the preseason. Blount will ball out, and the Patriots ground game will be great. And Develin would have much to do with that. Here is the preseason play that foreshadowed what the rest of the season would be like:

At the very beginning of the play, you can see James completely take a would-be tackler out of the play. The result? A huge hole opens up for Blount, who rumbles and hurdles for a 17-yard gain. These sort of plays have been happening all year long.

Here you can see Develin seal the edge for Blount, resulting in a touchdown:

In this next one, Develin blocks two defenders. By doing so Blount can bounce the ball through an open gap and take off for a 44-yard run.

James Rittenhouse Develin Jr. has been doing this all season. I could show you these all day. Unfortunately, twitter only has so many highlights. So James, while you may not always be on the highlight reel or the stat sheet; while people may not be running to buy your jersey or asking for autographs, we just want you to know, you are still a hero in our heart, albeit sometimes an unsung one.