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. Is he worth drafting?
TreVeyon Henderson Fantasy Outlook
As a four-year player, it’s great that Henderson was so productive as a freshman, rushing for 1,248 yards and 15 touchdowns. It’s less than ideal that it was his most productive college season.
With that said, Henderson easily could have joined the NFL last year. Some would argue he probably should have, considering he split the Buckeyes’ backfield with Quinshon Judkins in 2024 as a result, which limited his production.
Nevertheless, Henderson remained efficient, averaging a Big Ten-best 7.1 yards per carry heading. He also showed proficiency as a receiver, hauling in 27 balls for 284 yards in a split backfield.
Henderson ran a 4.43 40-time for an 80th-percentile speed score. The Ohio State star has the makings of being at least an impactful satellite back in Year 1. Of course, Henderson’s RB22 ADP and the fact that he goes way ahead of Stevenson (RB38) suggest fantasy managers believe the rookie will be a whole lot more than just a satellite back.
Long term, it’s safe to say Henderson is the Patriots’ running back of the future. For this year, though, we may end up seeing more Stevenson than the fantasy community is accounting for.
The Patriots just signed Stevenson to an extension before last season. While Henderson’s talent should eventually push him ahead of Stevenson, he won’t render the incumbent irrelevant.
Henderson’s role as a receiver should keep his floor relatively high. However, if he’s going to reach his ceiling, he will need to score touchdowns. As much as we’d love to see Henderson in a three-down role, who do you think the Patriots will trust more at the goal line: the 210-pound rookie or the 232-pound veteran?
The thing is, we know what Josh McDaniels can do with a running back with the skill set of Henderson … and so does Henderson.
Rookie RB TreVeyon Henderson on who he has studied in Josh McDaniels’ offense: “James White. Shoot, he dang near looked like a receiver. He was a great running back here.”
(cc: @SweetFeet_White) pic.twitter.com/FGsmTGPp9G
— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) June 10, 2025
Henderson understands what he can do if he applies his skills correctly. James White averaged 17.8 fantasy points per game in 2018 despite carrying the ball less than 100 times. Why? He saw a 22.2% target share.
Now, there’s no chance Henderson is targeted that much. But Henderson is a far more athletic and explosive player than White. What Henderson lacks in volume, he can make up for with efficiency.
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I have Henderson ranked as my RB19, considerably ahead of his RB25 ADP. He has become someone I am aggressively targeting, as I believe his role will increase as the season progresses. Plus, he and Stevenson are both in a situation where if one gets hurt, the other won’t simply remain in the same role; he will assume full control of the backfield.
Henderson is obviously more desirable in full PPR. I would tick him down a couple of spots in Half PPR. However, I am still going to be above consensus, making him someone fantasy managers should be looking to draft.
Dan Fornek’s TreVeyon Henderson Projection
Henderson looked like the next big running back prospect back in 2021. During his freshman season with Ohio State, he handled 183 carries for 1,248 yards and 15 touchdowns while adding 27 receptions for 312 yards and four touchdowns. He led the Big 10 in yards per attempt (6.8).
What followed that were two seasons mired with injuries. Henderson was still productive in 2022 and 2023 (286 touches for 1,754 all-purpose yards and 18 total touchdowns), but he was limited to just 18 games played over those two seasons. He returned to Ohio State in 2024 to win a National Championship while splitting the backfield with transfer Quinshon Judkins.
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The result was his best season since 2021. Henderson had 144 carries for 1,016 yards and 10 touchdowns while adding 27 receptions for 284 yards and one receiving score. He posted career-highs in yards per attempt (7.1) and yards per touch (7.6). Henderson was drafted in the second round of the 2025 NFL Draft by the New England Patriots to add an explosive element to their offense.
New England’s offense should be better in 2025 with Josh McDaniels at offensive coordinator. Henderson is expected to split time in the backfield with veteran Stevenson, but that means he is assured to make a big impact in the passing attack. Given Stevenson’s struggles with fumbles (seven in 2024), there is a chance Henderson takes on a bigger role than that.
While there are questions about Henderson’s durability, there should be no doubt that he is a dynamic weapon in the backfield that can turn any touch into a chunk gain. He can easily finish as a top 24 running back as a rookie, especially if he siphons touches from Stevenson early on.
