The New England Patriots believed they found their franchise quarterback, Drake Maye, who could usher in a new era. After a solid rookie season, the team spent a ton of resources building the offense around their new potential superstar.
That meant adding some depth to the wide receiver room and finding Maye some help in the backfield. As a result, one of the biggest moves from the organization was drafting TreVeyon Henderson.
Taken with the 38th overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, it seemed like an obvious conclusion that Henderson would handle a bulk of the running back duties for the Patriots, forming a long-term duo with their quarterback.
However, his usage to start the season has been relatively low-key. But new videos emerging from New England’s practice may give fans some pause on that assertion. Change might be coming.
Could TreVeyon Henderson Get the Starting Nod?
Through three games, it has been hard to make full sense of the new-look Patriots. After an underwhelming season opener against the Las Vegas Raiders, the young team pulled out a gutsy win over the Miami Dolphins in Week 2.
However, their most disappointing game of the season came in Week 3. Despite outplaying the Pittsburgh Steelers on virtually every front, they still lost 21-14, thanks to five turnovers from the squad.
The offense, in that timeframe, has been nothing to write home about, hovering around the middle of the league as the 13th-best unit on PFSN’s Offense Impact. A big part of that underwhelming offensive output has been the ground game.
None of New England’s running backs have broken the 100-yard threshold through three weeks. So far, Rhamondre Stevenson has been RB1 with 22 carries for 87 yards. But, after being responsible for two of the turnovers against the Steelers, head coach Mike Vrabel may be changing his game plan.
A practice drill, as covered by ESPN’s Mike Reiss, had an interesting order of running backs involved in it. Taking to X, Reiss posted the video with the caption, “In this tackling/ball-carrier drill at Wednesday’s practice, rookie TreVeyon Henderson is the first RB to rep, followed by Antonio Gibson, then Rhamondre Stevenson.”
So far, Henderson has functioned as RB2 in terms of carries, going for 65 yards in his 19 attempts. However, he has factored into the offensive game plan to some extent, with his 11 receptions ranking as the third-highest mark among all pass catchers.
An electric campaign with the Buckeyes earned him a second-round selection. And it looks like the time is nearing when the Patriots will hand him the keys to the franchise.