2025 NFL the season didn't turn out the way many expected New England Patriots rookie running back TreVeyon Henderson. An early second-round pick, Henderson was expected to come into the game and immediately become a key part of New England's offense, serving as an explosive addition to the team. Rhamondre Stevenson in the background and may even take the lead role quite quickly.
When he starred during training camp and the preseason, it looked like Henderson was just around the corner. We even made him our team's biggest preseason winner. winners and losers column due to his performance on the field and news from Patriots camp.
Henderson led all rookies in yards per carry in the preseason with 7.1, despite actually only attempting five rushing attempts. However, on one of those runs, he scored and also caught three passes. And all this in just 16 offensive snaps. Oh, and he scored a touchdown on his first NFL touch, going 100 yards toward home. The Patriots are already talking about him as if he's going to take center field quickly.
But Henderson has yet to become a key player for the Patriots, mainly because he simply hasn't played very well. He's played just 37 percent of New England's offensive snaps, and last week, when Stevenson was sidelined with an injury, he topped 40 percent in just two of the team's eight games. He had 67 carries for 283 yards and one touchdown and 20 receptions for 131 yards.
In particular, Henderson's pass protection has come under scrutiny, including from the coaching staff. And that's not all that surprising considering he allowed seven passes with just 21 pass blocks, according to Pro Football Focus. Most of the film of him trying to block an opposing player's blitz goes like this:
Henderson also wasn't an effective runner until the last two weeks when he finally started to shine.
He averaged just 3.6 yards per carry from Weeks 1 to 7. Among the 38 running backs with more than 50 carries during that period, that number ranked 33rd. According to Tru Media, he was 21st in yards before contact per punt, and more importantly, he was 36th in yards after contact, showing an inability to break tackles and create yards for himself.
He did a great job of avoiding negative returns, but wasn't particularly consistent in gaining five-plus yards per clip (27th) or being explosive in separation (31st). For a player whose explosiveness was supposed to be his strength, it was alarming to see him struggle in this area.
However, the last two weeks have been encouraging. Henderson had 24 carries for 130 yards against. Browns And Falcons in weeks 8 and 9, an average of 5.4 yards per run. If it weren't for the 8-yard loss on a throw when a defender tackled Henderson immediately after he caught the ball, that number would have looked even better.
His average yards before contact increased from 1.16 yards to 2.04 yards, and his average yards after contact increased from 2.40 yards to 3.38 yards. The latter figures would rank fourth and ninth respectively for the entire season. He also gained five-plus yards on 45.8% of his carries and had an explosive gain (12-plus yards) of 12.5%, according to Tru Media, each of which represented significant increases from his averages from Weeks One through Seven.
At least part of that is because the Pats have done a better job of getting him to the perimeter with throws and other runs. Through the first seven weeks of the season, 53.5% of his runs were in the average range, according to Tru Media. Over the past two weeks, the share has fallen to just 29.2%.
They allowed Henderson to use his speed outside the formation a little more often, with positive results. The throwing game in particular was excellent. He has eight carries for 61 yards on that concept alone. Again, this includes one play in which he was tackled immediately eight yards from the line of scrimmage. He totaled 69 yards on his other eight runs.
However, over the past couple of weeks the situation has also improved on average. Earlier this season, Henderson rushed for just 52 yards on 23 carries between the tackles, according to Tru Media. This is obviously terrible. He has gained 42 yards on seven such carries over the last two weeks.
That's great and encouraging, even if the blocking was a big reason for the success of those attempts because earlier in the season he wasn't able to make the most of what the blocking gave him. From Weeks 1 to 7, Henderson gained 52 more yards than expected on his carries, according to NFL Pro. In Weeks 8 and 9, this number is +11 yards above expected.
In his first start as a starter in Week 9, Henderson also set or tied season highs in targets (six) and receiving yards (32). He has been a big factor in the passing game on check-downs and flat routes out of the backfield, and appears to be making a good impact for the first time this year.
Henderson could get another start and another big role this weekend against pirates (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, CBS, airing on Paramount+)What about Stevenson not training again at the start of the week. If he does get that opportunity, the Patriots will need to continue putting him in position to have success, putting him in space rather than having him run over the middle, and Henderson himself needs to both watch his blocks and then stay upright in pass protection when tasked with blocking the ball. Drake Maye. If he can continue to do what he's been doing the last two weeks, he could potentially retain most of the work in the backfield when Stevenson returns.
