New England Patriots - NESN.com
There’s reason to be excited about the Patriots offense going into 2025 in a way that simply hasn’t existed since the Tom Brady era.
New England already has Drake Maye, who looks like a franchise quarterback. It rehired offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels to guide the ship. And with those two staples in place, Mike Vrabel and the overhauled Patriots brain trust have spent the offseason building around those pillars.
They did so both through free agency and the draft, with the latter offering some very intriguing prospects. Field Yates has his eye on running back TreVeyon Henderson, so much so that the ESPN NFL analyst made the Ohio State product one of his 10 non-first-round offensive rookies who could make a legitimate impact in Year 1.
“Henderson is one of the most explosive players in the rookie class, and he will be a big-time factor on third down in New England because of his pass-catching and pass-protecting traits,” Yates wrote for ESPN.com Monday.
The ability to catch and block is a major factor in any McDaniels offense, so it shouldn’t take long for the second-round pick to endear himself to his new bosses. Yates also noted how Henderson’s skillset in the Buckeyes’ backfield — where he “provided the lightning to (Quinshon) Jenkins’ thunder” — could be replicated with a 1-2 punch in New England alongside incumbent Rhamondre Stevenson.
Perhaps most importantly, like most young running backs, Henderson (once he gets on the field) should hit the ground running.
“He provides instant offense as a runner and receiver,” Yates concluded.
Henderson was a relative late bloomer, at least as a running back, but he showcased his insane athleticism and football IQ early in his career.
While he might not have the elite game-changing ability of, say, highly drafted running back Ashton Jeanty, Henderson could end up being an extremely valuable piece of the puzzle for the next great (or at least good) Patriots offense.
