The New England Patriots already had one of the NFL’s most productive offenses last season, but Mike Vrabel found one area he could not shake while reviewing the team’s Super Bowl loss.
New England needed to run the football with greater consistency, leading the Patriots back to a position they had moved away from four years earlier.
The team signed Reggie Gilliam to restore a true fullback to the offense, and his role could end up carrying more weight than his low-profile position suggests.
The Athletic’s Chad Graff reported Friday that Vrabel repeatedly returned to the running game while evaluating what went wrong after the Super Bowl.
New England also had problems finishing drives in the red zone despite leading the AFC in expected points added per play.
“You have to have a mentality and a mindset to want to run the football,” Vrabel told The Athletic.
The Patriots backed that idea with a significant commitment.
Gilliam signed a three-year, $10.8 million contract that includes $6 million guaranteed, according to Spotrac. New England had stopped using a traditional fullback after Josh McDaniels left in 2022, making Gilliam’s arrival a deliberate change in how Vrabel wants the offense built.
Gilliam Gives Patriots a Different Way to Stress Defenses
GettyORCHARD PARK, NEW YORK – JANUARY 15: Reggie Gilliam #41 of the Buffalo Bills in action against the Miami Dolphins during the second half in the AFC Wild Card playoff game at Highmark Stadium on January 15, 2023 in Orchard Park, New York. (Photo by Bryan M. Bennett/Getty Images)
Gilliam’s impact could be felt before he ever touches the ball.
The 6-foot-1, 255-pound fullback gives New England the ability to use more 21 personnel, putting Gilliam on the field with one running back, one tight end and two wide receivers.
That package can force defenses into heavier personnel with three linebackers and more bodies around the line of scrimmage.
Then comes favorable play-action opportunities for Drake Maye, whose passing game already powered much of New England’s success last season.
If opponents counter with an extra defensive back, Gilliam can instead serve as a lead blocker for Rhamondre Stevenson or TreVeyon Henderson.
“Fullbacks are the hybrids now,” Gilliam told The Athletic.
The chess match helps explain why the Patriots made an unusually large investment at a position that has disappeared from many NFL offenses.
Gilliam has only eight carries and 16 receptions across six NFL seasons. His value centers on blocking, special teams and how his presence forces a defense to choose its personnel.
There is also a track record behind that role.
With Gilliam serving as a lead blocker, the Buffalo Bills finished among the NFL’s top 10 in rushing yards in five of his six seasons with the team and led the league in 2025.
That could prove especially useful inside the red zone, where the field becomes condensed and New England struggled to turn an otherwise lively offense into touchdowns often.
Gilliam Took Unlikely Route to Major Patriots Role
GettyEAST RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY – SEPTEMBER 14: Reggie Gilliam #41 of the Buffalo Bills looks on from the sideline in the fourth quarter during the NFL 2025 game between Buffalo Bills and New York Jets at MetLife Stadium on September 14, 2025 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
Gilliam’s track to becoming a potential piece of Vrabel’s offensive plan was hardly direct.
He arrived at Toledo as a walk-on running back after receiving no Division I scholarship offers.
Buried on the running back depth chart and up to 245 pounds as a freshman, Gilliam moved to fullback and tight end to keep his football career alive.
Gilliam went undrafted in 2020 and chose Buffalo from three post-draft offers.
His opportunity arrived unexpectedly when the team’s veteran fullback suffered a neck injury during the first padded practice of training camp.
Gilliam made the roster and eventually spent six seasons with the Bills before joining New England this offseason.
He enters his seventh NFL season with considerably more security than he had as an undrafted rookie, though he told The Athletic that his new three-year contract has not changed the urgency he carries into camp.
That mentality fits what Vrabel wanted when he went searching for answers after the Super Bowl.
Regardless, the Patriots already had an offense capable of carrying them deep into January.
Gilliam gives them another way to control matchups for a team trying to turn a Super Bowl appearance into a championship.
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