Overlooked playmakers could make the biggest difference for Patriots' offense

Drake Maye is the face of the New England Patriots, but last season, running the football was their identity from a schematic standpoint.

In 2025, the Patriots called a run play 47.32% of the time during the regular season, ranking them seventh in the league. Only two teams exceeded 50% (Baltimore and Buffalo), while the Patriots were one of eight teams to exceed 47%.

This makes plenty of sense, considering their offensive coordinator, Josh McDaniels. During the final season of his last stint with the Patriots, McDaniels' offense ranked sixth in run play percentage during the regular season at 46.53%.

He was also the primary reason the Patriots brought the fullback back into their offense, and subsequently made Reggie Gilliam the highest-paid utility man in the league this offseason.

The offensive line is also a major priority for the Patriots, with McDaniels calling the offense, as reflected by their acquisitions over the last two offseasons. The team spent a pair of first-round picks on Will Campbell and Caleb Lomu, selecting the former fourth overall and trading up for the latter.

They went on to select Jared Wilson in the top 100 following a trade-up and signed Garrett Bradbury in 2025. After trading Bradbury, they handed Alijah Vera-Tucker a massive deal this offseason, while right tackle Morgan Moses was acquired during the 2025 offseason.

Despite all the infrastructure built to support the team's backfield, PFF seems to lack belief in the team's running back room, ranking them the 13th best in the league. While a top-half ranking is far better than they were last season, it could easily prove to be too low a ranking by the end of the season.

The Patriots' running back room could be a problem for the rest of the league

TreVeyon Henderson and Rhamondre Stevenson offer complementary skill sets. Henderson is a big play waiting to happen, with two 145+ yard games last season in which he had over 10.0 YPC.

Stevenson struggled immensely with fumbles at the beginning of last season, with three in the first five games. It wasn't until after the team's December bye week that he really got rolling, becoming one of the league's most effective backs leading into the playoffs.

Stevenson took the reins in the playoffs, outcarrying Henderson 58 to 30, including a 25-carry game in the AFCCG that marked his most in a game since Week 1 of the previous season. He's taken 25 carries on just three occasions in his career, as his power has allowed him to do so when necessary.

It will likely be a mostly even split this season, and that's part of PFF's justification for ranking the unit in the top half of the league. They note that one of their top backs missing a few games wouldn't be "overly noticeable," and while that depth is an advantage, demeriting the team for lacking a single star still seems fair.

Of the twelve teams above them, each has a legitimate star running back, with the exception of the Pittsburgh Steelers, who have a one-two punch of Rico Dowdle and Jaylen Warren. The Patriots' backfield isn't as good as the Steel Curtain's at the moment, but by the end of the season, it should be.

For the reasons mentioned above, specifically the stronger infrastructure behind them, Henderson and Stevenson should each see more success than they did last season, especially if McDaniels continues to be top-ten in run play percentage.

Time will tell, but the Patriots' running back room jumping into the top ten by the end of the year isn't at all unreasonable.

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