ClutchPoints
It’s safe to say that things need to change for the New England Patriots on offense, as they ranked at or near the bottom in major offensive categories in 2024. Having played from behind often last season, their offense became too one-sided, resulting in their lopsided stats and record.
While quarterback Drake Maye showed plenty of promise, the offense struggled across the board. It was the rushing game that slowed things down for New England. Rhamondre Stevenson had a career-worst seven fumbles on his way to his worst yards per carry average (3.87) in his career, paving the way for the Patriots to draft Ohio State RB TreVeyon Henderson in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Buyer’s remorse is likely a frequent term being thrown around by the New England front office after inking Stevenson to a four-year extension in June 2024. Coming off a season where he was only healthy for 12 games, Stevenson didn’t look like the future at running back for the Patriots, and yet the team still handed him a long-term deal.
Flash forward to this offseason, and it is clear that both Stevenson and Henderson will have roles in the running game in 2025. The ball-security issues likely will weigh heavily on Stevenson’s workload, so as long as Henderson can hold onto the ball, he should earn a leg up in the backfield race.
Henderson is the smaller of the two backs, as he is shorter and far slimmer than Stevenson, but you couldn’t tell that from watching game film. The former Buckeye is a physical runner who seeks out contact when meeting defenders. That style of play should excite head coach Mike Vrabel, as he looks to return the franchise to being a physical presence in the AFC East.
Maye is an obvious breakout candidate, as he is entering his second season and needs to build off of an up-and-down rookie campaign. But Henderson can actually unlock another element of this offense, especially considering how maligned the receiver group remains.
Even with the likely combo of Henderson and Stevenson being rolled out to start the year, it would be a surprise not to see the former take over more of the workload as the season progresses. The Patriots didn’t use a second-round selection on a backup running back, so he will likely see the field early on.
In his time at Ohio State, Henderson teamed up with fellow rookie back Quinshon Judkins in the Buckeye backfield, with Henderson averaging over seven yards per carry on his way to rushing for over 1,000 yards. His collegiate productions shouldn’t be pushed aside, as he showed he was capable of holding down a large workload in both areas of the offense.
Outside of Las Vegas Raiders star rookie Ashton Jeanty, Henderson might have the most talent back from this incoming rookie class. Seldom mentioned in the same group as Jeanty and Los Angeles...
