The New England Patriots selecting players out of the University of Alabama in the NFL Draft was seemingly an annual occurrence under Bill Belichick. His successor as de facto general manager, Eliot Wolf, has taken a different approach: the Patriots picked 26 players before turning to the Crimson Tide for the first time.
The player to get the honor of ending a drought that actually extended all the way back to the 2021 draft was running back Jam Miller.
Hard facts
Name: Jam Miller
Position: Running back
Jersey
number: 30
Opening day age: 22 (4/29/2004)
Measurements: 5’10 1/4”, 209 lbs, 8 3/4” hand size, 30 3/8” arm length, 74 1/4” wingspan, 4.42s 40-yard dash, 30 1/2” vertical jump, 9’7” broad jump, 7.44 Relative Athletic Score
Experience
NFL: New England Patriots (2026-) | College: Alabama (2022-25)
A standout both on the gridiron and the track, Miller was rated a four-star recruit coming out of high school. Receiving scholarship offers from some of the top programs in the country, he initially committed to stay in his home state but flipped from Texas to Alabama during his senior season at Tyler Legacy High School in Tyler, TX.
Miller spent his entire four-year career with the Crimson Tide but was used in a depth role early on. After registering 74 carries in his first 26 games between 2022 and 2023, he upped his workload as a junior and began seeing regular action. As a consequence, he he led Alabama in rushing yards both season and finished his college career with 349 total carries for 1,596 yards and 13 touchdowns.
Despite some solid production particularly the last two seasons, Miller entered the 2026 NFL Draft as a projected late-round pick. He eventually heard his name called 245th overall in the seventh round by the Patriots.
Scouting report
Strengths: Miller looks like he was built in the running back factory. Standing at 5-foot-10 and 209 pounds, he offers a muscular, filled-out frame. He has an element of power to his game that allows him to break tackles even while not the most fleet-footed of runners. His cuts are decisive and he has impressive long speed (87th percentile 40-yard dash), all while bringing a “fight for every yard” mindset to the game. Miller furthermore offers some special teams experience and only fumbled the ball twice (1 lost) on 389 touches in college football’s top conference.
Weaknesses: Miller is not the quickest back and also did not take advantage of his speed as regularly as you would like to see; despite offering 4.42-speed he was not a reliable home-run hitter at Alabama. He also needs work on his pad level and contact balance, and even after 50 college games is underdeveloped in terms of vision and feel for block development. The same can be said about his work in pass protection — he gave up pressures on 10.3% of his reps and showed no tangible improvement in this area — and as a receiver.
2025 review
Stats: 11 games (8 starts) | 352 offensive snaps | 130 carries, 504 yards (3.9/carry), 3 TDs, 1 FB (0 lost) | 23 targets, 19 catches (82.6%), 109 receiving yards (5.7/catch), 3 drops | 6 QB pressures surrendered (3 sacks, 3 hurries) | 1 penalty (incl. 0 declined/offsetting)
Season recap: Miller began hitting his stride in 2024 and appeared poised to further build on that foundation as a senior. However, his final year in college proved to be a challenging one both in terms of availability and productivity.
Miller’s issues began in August, when he suffered a collarbone dislocation during a preseason scrimmage and subsequently miss the Crimson Tide’s first three games. He did see a heavy workload in his return to action against Georgia — 50 snaps, 19 touches — and finished with 65 scrimmage yards. His output that day was solid but nothing out of the ordinary, a fitting encapsulation of Miller’s season.
He ended up starting eight of his 11 games and led Alabama in rushing yards for a second straight year. However, he also averaged a career-low 3.9 yards per carry and found the end zone just three times after scoring eight combined touchdowns the previous season.
Of course, the circumstances did him few favors. Alabama became significantly more pass-heavy in 2025 while being led by future first-round quarterback Ty Simpson, while the team’s run blocking was at times inadequate. That said, Miller himself also lacked a second gear — his longest run covered only 24 yards — and later sustained a leg injury that kept him out of the SEC Championship Game.
All in all, his final season in Tuscaloosa can therefore be seen as a disappointment relative to preseason expectation. He was not necessarily bad, even though pass protection was a weakness, but simply did not have the same impact he had a year prior.
2026 preview
Position: Early-down running back | Ability: Depth player/Role player | Contract: Signed through 2029 (2030 UFA)
What will be his role? Miller has the makings of a between-the-tackles runner whose best work comes on early downs and possibly in end-of-game scenarios. Accordingly, he projects to serve as a rotational backup option behind Patriots starting running back Rhamondre Stevenson.
What is his growth potential? Miller showed some flashes during his college career but was unable to become a consistent difference maker at Alabama. Whether he will become that at the next level can be questioned, but that does not mean that he cannot turn into a serviceable if somewhat limited player on offense and in the kicking game.
Does he have positional versatility? Based on his college usage, Miller is a relatively one-dimensional running back. He can catch the occasional pass out of the backfield, but is not the most natural receiver nor a top-notch pass protector. He also did not play any special teams snaps the last two seasons but showed some flexibility earlier in his career: in 2022 and 2023, he played a combined 323 kicking game snaps and was used on all of the core four units (kickoff return, kickoff coverage, punt return, punt coverage).
What is his salary cap situation? Miller signed a standard four-year rookie contract after joining the Patriots, and as part of it will count $916,235 against their cap in 2026. That number consists of a non-guaranteed $885,000 base salary as well as a fully-guaranteed $31,235 signing bonus proration. At the moment and with the NFL’s Top 51 rule in place, those $31,235 are the entirety of his cap impact.
How safe is his roster spot? Despite the Patriots investing a draft pick in him, Miller is not guaranteed a spot on the roster. In order to earn one, he will have to prove himself more valuable to the operation than the other backup running backs, Lan Larison, Terrell Jennings and Myles Montgomery. Based on the open offseason practices, he and fellow rookie Montgomery are behind the more experienced Larison and Jennings in the pecking order.
Summary: The Patriots’ backup running back competition projects to be an intense one this summer, but Miller winning it would seemingly require a massive effort on the rookie’s part. Despite his speed, he is less dynamic an option as, for example, Lan Larison, and also does not appear to have a particularly high ceiling. What all of this means is that the practice squad might be a more realistic landing spot than the 53-man roster.
What do you think about Jam Miller heading into the 2026 season? Will he make it onto the roster? Or will other running backs end up on the team over him? And if so, who? Please head down to the comment section to share your thoughts.
