While the New England Patriots suffered a devastating loss to the Buffalo Bills in Week 15 of the season, a bright light has shone even brighter in one of their rookies, including against the mighty Bills. The player is a rookie second-round pick, TreVeyon Henderson, whose electric running is lighting up the entire NFL and has now garnered the favorite's position for a coveted award.
The award is the NFL's Offensive Rookie of the Year. No Patriot has won the award since running back Curtis Martin in 1995. Veteran Patriots' fans remember Martin's fabulous three years with the Patriots before defecting, along with head coach Bill Parcells (now a Patriots Hall of Famer), to the Jets, where he played for eight more years. Martin ran for 1,487 yards and 14 touchdowns in 1995 to earn the Rookie of the Year award, and ultimately, it helped earn him a ticket to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Now, Henderson is carving a path that may lead who knows where. After being foolishly benched for much of the first nine games of the season, ostensibly and ridiculously because of his pass-blocking skills, when he finally got his chance, he's taken off like Seabiscuit in the final stretch of a match race.
TreVeyon Henderson is one of the NFL's most explosive running backs
New Head Coach Mike Vrabel knew he had the most important cog in any offensive wheel in quarterback Drake Maye, but after that, the entire offense, barring the tight end room, needed major overhauls.
After drafting left tackle Will Campbell with his first-round pick, he immediately shored up a decent but unspectacular running back room with the dynamic TreVeyon Henderson.
Now, new odds published by Sports Illustrated from DraftKings Sportsbook have installed Henderson as the odds-on favorite to win that coveted Offensive Rookie of the Year award.
"New England Patriots rookie running back TreVeyon Henderson has been on fire as of late, and he’s now the favorite at +185 to win the award ahead of Emeka Egbuka (+205), Tetairoa McMillan (+250) and Jaxson Dart (+550)...Henderson is coming off a monster game in a loss to Buffalo in Week 15 while Egbuka and McMillan both had pedestrian showings. There is still a ton of time for a player to truly stake their claim in this market, but Henderson’s second-half surge has changed the betting odds in a big way."
Henderson's being "on fire" is an understatement. In his last five games, he has six touchdowns with four of them going for 50-plus yards, something no other Patriots, including Martin, have ever done. And this has been accomplished despite an offensive line missing its left tackle for a few games, which has had difficulty opening any holes for the backs.
MIke Vrabel hit paydirt with his second-round pick
Mike Vrabel knew his offense lacked playmakers and specifically explosive ones. No one on his offense could take a ball to the house, and he knew that was an asset that could change a game in an instant. Thus, somewhat surprisingly, he rolled the dice high and with the 38th pick in the 2025 draft took the 5'10", 202-pound Henderson from Ohio State.
A smaller back, Henderson's biggest attribute is his explosiveness. He had split carries for the Buckeyes with Quinshon Judkins, who was selected two picks before Henderson. He's also had a solid rookie year, but it's the explosiveness factor that separates the two. (Judkins is a big back at 221 pounds.)
The new Head Coach's pick worked out brilliantly. Henderson now has amassed 773 yards with seven touchdowns and a healthy 5.4 yards per carry average. Yet, his explosiveness distinguishes him from Judkins and almost any other NFL back.
Henderson is a veritable threat to take a carry or a short pass (he also has 34 catches for 212 yards and another touchdown to boot) to the house on any given play. He has verified Vrabel's confidence by blasting major runs for touchdowns to help win or, in the case of the Buffalo game, almost win games as a result.
The Patriots' coaching staff erroneously kept Henderson bottled up on the bench for most of the first nine games. It wasn't until Rhamondre Stevens was injured (after losing Antonio Gibson earlier) that he got his chance. Who knows what he might have achieved if they had more sense?
That ill-advised coaching notwithstanding, Henderson did get his chance, and he's now seized the No. 1 back role for himself. A couple more games even approaching his exploits in the Buffalo and Tampa Bay (also two long touchdown runs) games, and he'll take that Offensive Rookie of the Year Award home after the season.