I think it’d be a mistake to think of the NE RB situation in fantasy as being similar to the Tom Brady days. Those days are over. This is still going to be a bottom of the league passing attack that makes its bread running the ball. Defense and winning the time of possession battle is how the Patriots are trying to win. The fantasy RB8 in 2021 and RB13 in 2022 has come from New England. Expect more of the same in 2023. By all means drop Stevenson a round if you truly believe Zeke is a threat to his numbers, but anything beyond that is overthinking it.
Just curious . . . given the state of their OL, the toughness of their schedule, the QBs they have to face, the history of BOB in terms of play calling (55% pass / 45% run over 10 years), how likely are the Pats going to be in a position to run the football? If the Pats want to rely on run on first down, run on second down, and hope Jones can convert on third down, it will be a very long season. As already discussed, BOB up until now really hasn't integrated RB into the passing game all that much.
Maybe this matters, maybe it doesn't . . . each team's best fantasy RB in years with BOB calling offense or as HC:
2009 - Maroney RB36
2010 - BJGE RB19
2011 - BJGE RB28
2014 - Foster RB5
2015 - Blue RB47
2016 - Miller RB19
2017 - Miller RB16
2018 - Miller RB23
2019 - Hyde RB28
2020 - Johnson RB21
Yeah, I get it, different years, different teams, different situations, RS the best skilled position player on the Pats. But BOB as the OC would not excite me as a Stevenson owner. (On a side note, NE rushing attempts were very low last year . . . down about 100 attempts from the year's when they were winning a lot with Brady.) So yes, it's a whole new world in NE these days without Brady, and up until now that has resulted in a reduced workload for the RB group as a whole.
While Harris did well in 2021 and Stevenson did well in 2022, they did well due to the absence of the other. In games when they both played, the workload was split almost 50/50 and their individual totals were nowhere near the same as when both backs played. IMO, if Elliott is playing, that will limit the opportunities of Stevenson more than some people think. Harris ranked so high due to a crazy high TD total, while Stevenson ranked so high due to a very high reception total. There may not be a ton of rushing TD opportunities and personally, I think RS will see fewer receptions. But that's why they play the games.