Reggie Gilliam already embracing Josh McDaniels’ fullback vision

FOXBOROUGH, Mass — It's no secret that Josh McDaniels is a big fan of the fullback position, so it made sense that the New England Patriots targeted one of the better ones in the league this offseason.

Signing Reggie Gilliam to a three-year contract in March, McDaniels got his guy, and on Tuesday, he spoke about what it's been like to work with the Patriots' offensive coordinator.

"He's a high-energy guy. And he definitely likes the fullback - James Develin," Gilliam said. "New England's been known for having a full back, back there, and that's been part of the success of this organization."

The fullback has already started watching some Develin film too.

"I was actually watching film yesterday, and I see James Develin split out running a go route. And I was like, 'Hey, if he can do it, I can do it,'" Gilliam joked. "No disrespect to James, but I'm a little more agile than him. But it's nice to see that Josh values that position in a way more than just running your head into a wall."

All of this factored into his decision to sign with New England.

"They preached to me that they liked my physicality, they liked my style of play. And (Josh) McDaniels echoed that," he explained. "So, I just heard a lot of the 'We want to be physical. We want to run downhill. We like how you play, and we think that you can be an asset to this team.'"

However, he's not allowing himself to be pigeonholed into one specific role. He's ready to show the league exactly what he's capable of.

"I'm learning the entire offense. I'm not just learning fullback. I'm learning different positions," he added, also expanding upon the idea that there could be some untapped potential as a pass catcher. "Yeah, absolutely. I feel like I've been underutilized before, and I feel like a lot of people don't know what I can do with the ball in my hands because it hasn't been displayed. I haven't really had an opportunity to do it, so I definitely feel like there's some untapped potential there."