Dion Lewis' Health Could Be Paramount to Patriots' Early-Season Success

The New England Patriots' biggest weakness in 2015 was their roster being ravaged by injuries. The only way to address that weakness was to bolster the depth chart at a few key positions, particularly at running back, where the Patriots' two top players both finished the season on injured reserve.

Make no mistake, the Patriots have taken some measures this offseason to improve the depth chart in the backfield. The additions of undrafted rookie D.J. Foster and veteran free agent Donald Brown and the re-signing of LeGarrette Blount signal the Patriots' conscious awareness of the value of depth at running back. Even with all that depth, one name stands out above the rest: Dion Lewis.

As the 2015 breakout star returns from a torn ACL, the Patriots have to be keeping their fingers crossed that he is back to 100 percent. In this reference, 100 percent means exactly as effective as he was before. His quick-cutting style of planting and bursting could cause some concern when he hits the field again, with the potential that he could aggravate the injury without being touched.

Of course, many people had the same concerns about Patriots slot receiver Wes Welker back in 2010, but while the receiver took a step back on the stat sheet, he was still an important part of the Patriots offense with 86 receptions for 848 yards and seven touchdowns.

Lewis is hoping for a similar return, and the running back is about a month away from being able to play in a game, according to Mike Reiss of ESPN.com. That means he should be good to go by the time the 2016 preseason kicks off.

And that's a good thing, because who knows where the Patriots would be without him. Yes, quarterback Tom Brady will have wide receiver Julian Edelman and tight end Rob Gronkowski at his disposal, but there are a lot of questions in the passing game with veteran receivers such as Chris Hogan and Nate Washington joining the fold, along with rookies Malcolm Mitchell and Devin Lucien—not to mention veteran tight end Martellus Bennett.

These players all have plenty of potential in the Patriots offense, but we've seen in the past how a massive influx of skill-position players might not necessarily work out immediately in the Patriots' favor.

To put it another way, Brady is going to need all the continuity he can get. It will help him to have pass-catchers at his disposal who are not only familiar with him and his tendencies, but also with the offense in general.

Lewis did not get much time to demonstrate the ceiling of his potential, but one thing he demonstrated beyond a shadow of a doubt is his understanding of the offense and his puzzle-piece-like fit in it.

Of course, Lewis isn't the only one capable of filling the old Kevin Faulk role in the Patriots offense. There's also third-year running back James White, who flashed potential as a scatback in 2015 with 40 receptions for 410 yards and four touchdowns.

But Lewis is the one who is by far the most capable of filling that role, and if he's 100 percent to begin the season, the Patriots should get off to a roaring start.