The New England Patriots had a pretty eventful offseason.

Their biggest acquisition was cornerback Darrelle Revis. With a mediocre defense over the last five seasons, it was essential that they focus on that side of the ball. However, the Patriots must worry about their running game as well. 

So, who are the best running backs New England has to offer? Latin Post.com takes a look:

Stevan Ridley

LeGarrette Blount left for Pittsburgh Steelers during the offseason. That means Ridley is the best pure running back on this roster. Drafted in the third round in 2011, Ridley, luckily for New England, he has stayed very healthy. In 2012, he had a huge breakout season with 1,263 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns. Unfortunately, last season was very disappointing and underachieving. He ran for under 800 yards and was benched by Patriots coach Bill Belichick because of his fumbling problems.

Although Ridley has rushing talents, he is extremely limited with pass catching. In 46 career games, Ridley hasn't caught a single receiving touchdown and has caught just 19 passes. The Patriots are going to need Ridley to be the very effective running between the tackles to take pressure off quarterback Tom Brady.

Shane Vereen

Vereen is the opposite of Ridley. He's quick, athletic, and he does his damage through the air. Last season, Vereen had 427 receiving yards, twice the amount of his rushing total. With Vereen on the field with Ridley, the offense has a duel threat along with an efficient passing attack.

Obviously, Vereen is a great receiving back, but he is limited. The Patriots can't rely too much on him while taking away carries from Ridley. Throwing too much to Vereen could be detrimental to the team's downfield passing attack. It's going to be up to Aaron Dobson, Brandon LaFell, and Kenbrell Thompkins to do most of the damage through the air.

Brandon Bolden

Bolden is a mix between Vereen and Ridley. Although undrafted, he has shown signs of greatness on the field. He's the least entertaining of the three starters, but is the most consistent. He's a better rusher than Vereen and a better receiver than Ridley. With Bolden on the field, this gives the offense another player option to substitute from the bench.

Bolden is the "play it safe" running back, as he has never fumbled in his career so far. Although he is consistent, he's not going to break the big play and he only averages just five carries per game.

James White was recently drafted by the Patriots in the fourth round in the 2014 NFL Draft and Roy Finch was signed as an undrafted pick. Backup James Develin has been on the team for years, and isn't expected to be a factor at all.

Final Analysis

The Patriots certainly have depth at the running back position and they have balance. Even though Bolden rarely makes a mistake and Vereen is exciting, most of the responsibility falls on Ridley. Without Blount, he is going to have to rush for 1,000 yards, at minimum. Pass catching running backs are good, but pure running backs are what ultimately win playoff games.

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