Despite looking fairly obvious who they would take with their first-round pick, the Patriots became the subject of much speculation leading up to the draft regarding the No. 4 selection. LSU left tackle Will Campbell was the favorite to hear his name called after analysts believed Abdul Carter and Travis Hunter would be unavailable.
However, some felt there was a chance Mike Vrabel and Co. would make a stunning move and choose a surprise player instead. Various names were thrown out as possible ones they'd take, mainly if they lived up to their promise of choosing the best player available. That inevitably drew up conversation around running back Ashton Jeanty, the best of the 2025 class.
The exciting prospect was not anticipated to go in the top 5, making the idea that the Patriots could take him as a stunning choice. Of course, that's not what happened, which upset some fans who felt he would be a great addition to Drake Maye's offense. But they did take the next best player in TreVeyon Henderson in Round 2, whom one analyst believes might be an even better decision than Jeanty for New England.
NFL analyst believes TreVeyon Henderson is "further along" than top rookie running back
While discussing this year's draft, The Athletic's Bruce Feldman shared his take on the top running backs, including Henderson and Jeanty.
Although the Ohio State star has been widely considered a great pick by the Patriots, there has been some speculation about whether he was worthy of their second-round selection, given the number of roster holes that needed to be dealt with. Feldman believes he was that and then some, especially since he feels Henderson is "a lot further along than [Ashton] Jeanty is.”
That should seriously excite fans who wished Jeanty was on the Patriots roster instead of the Raiders.
Running back wasn't considered a major need for New England going into the draft, since they still roster Antonio Gibson and Rhamondre Stevenson. The veterans are still expected to be the 1-2 punch until Henderson shows what he can do this summer, and knowing he could be even better than the unanimously considered best running back of the 2025 class makes it all the more exciting to watch.
If that becomes a reality, it would be fair to give even more praise to Vrabel and Eliot Wolf for their impressive draft class, which has already earned the highest praise since the draft concluded last week.
It would be worthy of even more rave reviews if Henderson takes home the crown of the best RB prospect of the class by the end of next season, making the Patriots draft that much more memorable in a good way this time.