Head coach Mike Vrabel and the New England Patriots made a statement on Day 2 of the 2025 NFL Draft, selecting two of the most explosive skill position prospects on the board in Ohio State running back TreVeyon Henderson, and Washington State wide receiver Kyle Williams.
Five months later, Patriots fans are still itching to see more of their team’s dynamic rookie duo.
Even with Kayshon Boutte out with a hamstring injury, Williiams has had a hard time getting on the field behind Stefon Diggs, Mack Hollins and DeMario Douglas. He had a game-breaking, 72-yard catch and run for a touchdown in last week’s road upset over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but he’s still under 100 total receiving yards on the season.
Henderson has been the larger source of frustration for fans, who have been clamoring for the speedy rookie to be more involved. Josh McDaniels and company have been extremely cautious with the 200-pound back; he’s yet to receive more than 14 carries or 20 total touches in any of the Patriots’ 10 games this season.
While that trend could change during Thursday night’s clash with the New York Jets at Gillette Stadium, given the Patriots’ banged up running back room on a short week, one prominent reporter said what no fan — or fantasy football manager — wanted to hear about Henderson following Sunday’s big win over the Bucs.
Greg Bedard of Boston Sports Journal doesn’t see RB1 upside in Patriots rookie TreVeyon Henderson
With Stevenson already ruled out for the Jets game on Wednesday, and Terrell Jennings nursing a knee injury, Henderson should get the lion’s share of the Patriots’ backfield work once again on Thursday night.
But even if Henderson matches his season high of 51 offensive snaps, as he’s gotten in back-to-back weeks, Patriots reporter Greg Bedard of Boston Sports Journal doesn’t see him being deployed like a true bell-cow back, both for this Jets game and going forward.
During a postgame podcast interview with John Zannis of CLNS on Sunday, Bedard called for less ground and pound, and more opportunites in the passing game for Henderson, who fits the mold of a dynamic third-down back in offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels’ scheme.
“Just one reception, one target, for 3 yards for Henderson? I just think he would be such a weapon just in the check-down game, to get like 6 or 7 (yards) at a time. But you’re asking me… say, Rhamondre’s out for a month, can he fill the role? No. I just don’t think that he can take that kind of beating. He only had 15 touches (on Sunday). I think that’s where they’d like to keep him, somewhere in the 15-20 touch range. So, they’ve got to figure out, who are the other touches going to?”
Does @GregABedard think TreVeyon Henderson could be lead back if Rhamondre Stevenson had to miss more time?
— Patriots on CLNS (@PatriotsCLNS) November 9, 2025
“No, I just don’t think he can take that beating.” pic.twitter.com/tR2xeGSm0V
Again, Patriots fans aren’t going to love the sound of this — especially not after Henderson’s 147-yard, two-touchdown performance against the Bucs — but the answer to Bedard’s question is probably some combination of Jennings and practice squad call-up D’Ernest Johnson, depending on how Jennings is feeling during pregame warmups on Thursday night.
Henderson was averaging just 3.5 yards per carry with one touchdown through his first seven games of the season. In his last three since Stevenson’s injury, he’s gone off for 277 yards on 38 carries and two explosive scores.
With Antonio Gibson out for the season, the Patriots don’t have another player on the roster with Henderson’s unique skillset. They’re going to need him down the stretch, and that could mean another night with far less involvement in the offense than Patriots fans want to see.