Last offseason, the New England Patriots gave Rhamondre Stevenson a four-year extension running through 2027. This year, they spent a second-round pick on TreVeyon Henderson. The rookie has already been anointed the superior player and better fantasy football asset by the community. Has Stevenson been cast aside, or is he actually a value in 2025 fantasy drafts?
Rhamondre Stevenson Fantasy Outlook
The discourse surrounding Stevenson has been fascinating. Never really a high-end fantasy asset, Stevenson has proven capable of being a lead back at the NFL level.
With that said, he’s largely been overvalued the past two years, as fantasy managers chased the highs of an outlier 2022 season that he’s never going to replicate. In 2022, the conditions were unique in that a bunch of targets were funneled Stevenson’s way.
By no means is Stevenson a poor receiver — he’s a good one. But he’s not Matt Forte or David Johnson. Yet, in 2022, Stevenson saw a 17.3% target share, fourth in the league. That and that, alone, is what propelled him to 14.7 fantasy points per game and a career-best overall RB10 finish.
Aside from 2022, Stevenson has never averaged above 12.1 PPG and never finished inside the top 24.
Last season, Stevenson saw his efficiency crater, averaging a career-worst 3.9 yards per carry and his 0.87 yards per route run. He saw a 9.3% target share, a far cry from the elite levels of 2022.
Two very contradictory things happened over the past year that make Stevenson a tough player to evaluate. In 2024, the Patriots signed Stevenson to an extension. In 2025, the Patriots used a second-round pick on TreVeyon Henderson.
Fantasy managers have clearly made up their minds. Stevenson is old and busted, while Henderson is the new hotness. Please tell me if you get that reference.
The fantasy community always favors rookies and young players. Every rookie is coming in and immediately not only taking the veteran’s job, but also rendering him useless. That’s how the consensus tends to operate.
#Patriots HC Mike Vrabel on Rhamondre Stevenson:
“He’s gonna be a large part of what we do”
Vrabel has a 40% reliability rating on depth chart coachspeak and a 65% reliability rating on usage/workload coachspeak pic.twitter.com/AD0vUyDgLh
— The Coachspeak Index (@CoachspeakIndex) May 20, 2025
Henderson’s ADP is RB25 while Stevenson is way down at RB39. That’s not indicative of an ambiguous backfield or a timeshare; that’s a starter and a backup. Are we sure it’s going to be that way?
To be clear, I am in on Henderson. I have him ranked as my RB23, primarily because I place a higher premium on second-half production. If Henderson is as talented as we think he is, then we could get a weekly high RB2 over the second half. But early-season production matters, too. Plus, it’s not like Stevenson doesn’t have outs as well.
I have Stevenson ranked as my RB39. Yes, I am giving in to the gap between the two. However, I am by no means out on the veteran. Stevenson is going to start, probably all season. He’s going to handle plenty of early down work and, at 231 pounds, is the favorite for goal line carries. Stevenson may very well be a touchdown-dependent RB2 at an RB3 price.
MORE: Free Fantasy Football Mock Draft Simulator
I have other running backs ranked ahead of Stevenson because of the nature of rankings. These guys have higher upside or an easier path to production. But I am not writing off Stevenson.
What if Stevenson is just good? What if Henderson doesn’t quite acclimate to the NFL as easily? What if Henderson gets hurt? What if this is simply a 50/50 timeshare all season? There are several paths to Stevenson outperforming his ADP, making him someone I am not necessarily aggressively targeting, but definitely interested in drafting, especially on Hero or Zero RB teams.
Dan Fornek’s Rhamondre Stevenson Projection
Rhamondre Stevenson had a disappointing 2024 season, which was partially his fault and partially due to the poor performance of his offensive line and supporting cast.
Stevenson played 15 games and carried the ball 207 times for 801 yards and seven rushing touchdowns while adding 33 receptions for 168 yards and one touchdown with seven fumbles. He finished as the RB27 in PPR points per game (min. 8 games) with 11.7 PPG. He battled through a foot injury and was trapped in a committee with Antonio Gibson, which capped his upside.
MORE: Fantasy Football Trade Analyzer
There are plenty of reasons to be optimistic in New England’s offense in 2025 with new play calling, a second year of Drake Maye, and upgrades at wide receiver (Stefon Diggs and Kyle Williams) and on the offensive line (Will Campbell, Morgan Moses, and Garrett Bradbury). Unfortunately, the Patriots invested a second-round pick in Ohio State running back TreVeyon Henderson, which cuts into Stevenson’s upside completely.
Henderson averaged 6.4 yards per carry and 11.1 yards per reception over his four-year career with the Buckeyes. He was also the most complete third-down running back in the draft, thanks to his pass-catching, dynamism in space, and pass-blocking ability. Henderson will have a consistent role on third downs as a rookie and could easily eat into Stevenson’s carries.
At best, Stevenson is on the early downside of a split backfield with some touchdown upside. At worst, his fumbling issues persist, and he sees his role being taken over by Henderson and Gibson. Stevenson is a fine value as a bench running back given Henderson’s injury history, but he will be hard to trust every week as long as the backfield is healthy.
