Would you rather pay more for Todd Gurley or less for the Patriots’ RB platoon?

Todd Gurley bumped his NFL ceiling from good to great in 2017 when he broke out for 2,093 total yards and 19 touchdowns for the Los Angeles Rams. The reigning NFC West champions rewarded his greatness with a market-setting four-year, $57.5 million contract that proved the era of the star tailback isn’t over in the pros just yet.

That kind of spending isn’t for everyone. Gurley’s $17.25m cap hit for 2020 will be more than all but two teams are currently spending on their entire cache of running backs. Franchises began to shy away from paying a featured back big money in the mid-00s, instead opting to build a deep and versatile stable for less money. No team may have been more influential in the trend than the New England Patriots. After witnessing a brilliant end to Corey Dillon’s career and watching first-round replacement Laurence Maroney fall apart after a promising start, the Patriots instead opted to frustrate fantasy owners with a long string of single-use backs and replaceable runners.

In 2014, the Pats won a Super Bowl with a roster where no single running back made more than six starts or recorded more than 96 carries. Last year, New England’s top two backs (Dion Lewis and Mike Gillislee) combined for fewer total touches than Gurley, who had 279 carries and 64 receptions for a stacked LA offense. The strategy worked out for both sides; the Patriots ranked third in the league in offensive efficiency at six yards per play, while the Rams slid into seventh at 5.8.

But what if you were a general manager with the opportunity to sign a game-changing runner like Gurley? Would you cough up eight figures to keep one electric player who commands more than six times his positional average in annual salary? Or would you stock your roster with less impactful and less expensive players who can replicate most of what that star back brings — just not all at once, and never quite at that same top gear?

Playable running backs have typically been easier to find in the later portions of the draft in recent years, but an elite running back is still a valuable asset to have. Especially when that running back as the efficiency of a top-tier wide receiver in the passing game. Gurley ranked 19th in yards per target among all players with at least 50 targets on the year. That was a higher mark than Stefon Diggs, Adam Thielen, T.Y. Hilton, and Gurley’s former teammate Sammy Watkins. We’re not talking about a capable receiving threat, we’re talking about one of the premier receiving options in the league.

Of course, the decision to pay Gurley is much, much easier after spending a top-10 pick on him. It doesn’t make sense to let Gurley walk after he became everything the Rams have hoped he would become. Gurley did have a down year in 2016, but we all saw the potential he had after an explosive rookie year in 2015.

Regression is likely for Gurley since running backs don’t typically have that level of dominance in the passing game, but it’s clear the Gurley in the right system can be one of the most fearsome offensive players in the game.

Gurley can do it all as a player and he keeps defenses honest because the Rams can run any play with him in the game. Teams are less likely to get a jump on what play could be coming like they do with platoon packages. Keeping defenses off guard through the similarity of having him in the backfield is what makes Gurley such a valuable weapon for the Rams.

The Patriots’ tailback huddle may get even less expensive by the time the regular season rolls around, as Gillislee could be cut after a disappointing 2017, shaving $2.18m off New England’s books. While the former Bill was brought to New England to serve as the team’s LeGarrette Blount replacement, he struggled as the season wore on and lost full two yards per carry off his 2016 average.

But Gillislee’s time as a healthy scratch is a testament to the strength of Bill Belichick’s platoon. The Patriots benched the player who took more than 60 percent of the team’s carries over the first five weeks of the season and got even stronger behind his replacements. Dion Lewis and Rex Burkhead stepped up in the backfield and paced an above-average rushing offense over the final half of the season.

Gurley’s big advantage is that he can provide value as a home run hitting runner and a capable receiver with a single roster spot. The Pats’ group as a whole can’t match his 2017 efficiency or per-touch yardage, but they’ve consistently provided enough ground coverage to pad out Josh McDaniels’ wide open playbook. Burkhead and James White, the latter the record holder for most receptions in the Super Bowl, combined for 3.6 receptions per game and six receiving touchdowns last fall, giving the team a valuable receiving presence in the backfield.

The team’s rushing game is less certain thanks to Lewis’ departure and a preseason injury to 2018 first-round draft pick Sony Michel. That shouldn’t be a problem; New England has found a way to have at least two of its top three rushers average more than four yards per carry every year since Dillon’s retirement. Part of that is thanks to Tom Brady’s ability to back defenses away from the line of scrimmage, but the point remains that inexpensive and effective options are typically available every year.

The New England platoon is cheaper, more versatile, and a valuable insurance policy in case of injury or a sudden drop in effectiveness — a legitimate concern given Gurley’s collegiate ACL tear and the sophomore slump that saw him average just 3.2 yards per carry in 2016. The Rams’ back is distilled excitement and the kind of player who can single-handedly change a game, but a Patriots-style platoon is a safer and cheaper alternative that allows teams to focus their cap room elsewhere without worrying too much about the fortunes of one player.