TreVeyon Henderson's first look in a New England Patriots uniform was eclectic.
Way back on Aug. 8, Henderson caught the opening kickoff of the Patriots’ 2025 preseason, and as if shot out of a cannon, raced 100 yards the other way for a touchdown. The crowd inside Gillette Stadium, as it would be for some much more important home games in January, went absolutely berserk.
It was a sign of things to come for Henderson, who as the Patriots’ speed compliment to running back Rhamondre Stevenson in the backfield, is uncatchable when he finds so much as a crease. He scored touchdowns on four runs of 50-plus yards this season, which is tied for the most by a rookie in NFL history.
Henderson’s overall rushing efficiency, however, has dropped off considerably since the start of the NFL playoffs. In three games, Henderson has gained just 57 yards on 24 carries, an average of 2.4 per rush. He’s also been targeted only three times by quarterback Drake Maye, totaling seven scoreless yards.
His postseason snap counts kind of tell the whole story. Per Pro Football Focus, Henderson has a max of 26 snaps, which came in the wild-card win over the Los Angeles Chargers; in the AFC Championship Game, he played just four offensive snaps to Stevenson’s 60.
That discrepancy wasn’t only because of the blizzard that settled into Denver during the second half of the AFC title game. Henderson’s clearly struggling to find the second level of the defense, and now entering the biggest game, head coach Mike Vrabel might seek an alternative method to give one of his most explosive playmakers an opportunity to break one.
TreVeyon Henderson could be the special teams boost the Patriots need in Super Bowl LX
Thanks to its suffocating defense, New England is leading the NFL’s playoff qualifiers in several categories, such as yards and points allowed, and total sacks.
The Patriots’ kick return game, however, has added next to no hidden value.
With D’Ernest Johnson and Efton Chism handling the bulk of the kickoffs, the Patriots are averaging 24.5 yards per kick return in the playoffs, which would rank them eighth out of the 14 qualifying teams.
The team ranked No. 1? That would be the NFC Champion Seattle Seahawks, who have a game breaker back there in wide receiver Rashid Shaheed.
No stone goes unturned when preparing for a Super Bowl, and for Vrabel’s Patriots, that’s especially true as a near five-point underdog in this game. Hidden yardage in the box score — like kick return yards — ends up looming large in theses games, and Henderson could be the Patriots’ counter to Shaheed in that department come Super Sunday.
ESPN’s Mike Reiss asked Henderson if he’s still seeing work as a kick returner in practice, and the rookie revealed he has prior to the team's flight to Santa Clara.
"Coach Vrabel always tells us to prepare as a starter, and so even though I’m not first on the depth chart on kick return, we still get reps in practice. I'm still preparing as a starter because you never know when guys may go down, and your time may be up. It's something that coach Vrabes does a good job of keeping us all ready for when that time comes."
Despite his electric preseason debut, Henderson didn’t see a ton of work on the kickoff team. He only returned nine kicks during the regular season, with a long of 28 yards. He also hasn’t yet returned a kick in the playoffs.
Why roll with Johnson, Chism, and even rookie wide receiver Kyle Williams on kickoffs instead? The most likely reason is that Henderson is too valuable to the offense to risk losing to a special teams injury; he suffered a concussion against the Ravens back in Week 16, and the Patriots are extremely thin behind Stevenson in their running back room.
But when Super Bowl Sunday arrives, teams tend to throw everything in their bag at their opponent. Trick plays are common, and new wrinkles — like sneaking one of the fastest players in football on the kickoff return team — will definitely be in play.
The Patriots have dabbled a bit with Williams and top punt return man Marcus Jones on kick returns in these playoffs, looking for a spark. Could Henderson be the guy to light that match against the Seahawks?
Patriots fans have seen him do it before — and it was electric. Given his current struggles on offense, with Stevenson taking a firm hold on the backfield touches, it would not be a surprise to see Henderson get an opportunity to touch the ball on special teams, sometime during Super Bowl LX.