It has been a few years since the Patriots were a team that NFL analysts and fans could say had some top-performing players on the roster. For the most part, since players like Tom Brady, Julian Edelman, and Rob Gronkowski left, they have been widely overlooked for a lack of talent, and in most ways, that wasn't an incorrect assessment.
That has changed in recent years, however, with cornerback Christian Gonzalez becoming nearly a household name across the league. On top of that, Drake Maye asserted himself as a quarterback to watch after falling behind only Matthew Stafford for last season's MVP, while a few other players had breakout seasons, too.
One of them was running back TreVeyon Henderson, who New England took in the second round of last year's draft. He was a complete surprise for fans, and even for Henderson, and although it took a while for him to really break out on the field, he proved he could be a force in the backfield for years to come by season's end.
The same can be said about Rhamondre Stevenson, who started the 2025 season repeating his fumbling issue from the year before, but redeemed himself going into the Super Bowl.
Despite that, the latest running back rankings by Alex Kay of Bleacher Report leave the Patriots' duo off the list, and some of the honorable mentions are questionable at best.
The Patriots' running backs have a versatility that others on the new rankings don't possess
While it's understandable that Henderson and Stevenson weren't considered a top-5 RB duo in the NFL, it feels like a bit of a hot take to suggest other teams like the Seahawks and the Bills have more juice in their backfield than New England.
Seattle just lost their biggest star in free agency, as Kenneth Walker signed with the Chiefs, and the Bills' run game mostly goes through James Cook.
Those feel like incomplete groups to be considered among the best in the league, and it doesn't feel like a reach to suggest the Patriots should have been, at the very least, listed as an honorable mention, either instead of or alongside them.
Between Henderson and Stevenson, they recorded 310 carries for 1,511 yards and 16 touchdowns. They also added 67 receptions, 556 yards, and three touchdowns in the passing game, making them a bit more valuable than some of the other groups on the list.
Although it's frustrating to see more talented Patriots players being overlooked, it's just another reason to fuel them for the 2025 season and gives them more bulletin board material that gives them an edge, just as it has for some of the best Patriots in the past.
They have a lot to build upon in 2026, and based on what we saw last season, there's no reason to believe they can't do it. If anything, Henderson and Stevenson will be even better than what we saw last year, and that should put the league on notice after accomplishing an impressive season nobody could have predicted.