Drafting a New England Patriots running back in 2026 poses a familiar roster-construction challenge. Neither TreVeyon Henderson nor Rhamondre Stevenson is cheap, but neither requires an overwhelming draft investment either. The decision forces fantasy managers to choose between Stevenson, a proven asset with a narrow range of outcomes, and Henderson, a player who fluctuated from droppable to a difference maker during his rookie season.
No pressure: the decision might just determine your fate for the entire season.
Should You Draft TreVeyon Henderson in Fantasy Football?
We’ll start with Henderson’s ADP, which sits at 53.2 in PFN’s Free Fantasy Mock Draft Simulator. He checks in as the RB27 in our consensus ranks, which come from me and my colleague Kyle Soppe. We have him projected at 11.88 fantasy points per game.
Last season, I was very much in on Henderson because I am a big rookie guy. I think rookies are some of the best values in fantasy every season because there’s a lot of fear over the fact that they’ve never played in the NFL. That’s why they’re values. Everyone is scared. I try not to draft scared. The problem was I chased Henderson up the board. There was absolutely no reason that his ADP should have spiked two full rounds from the 56 turn to the 34 turn. At that point, I should have let myself get priced out. I didn’t. I chased him. We all remember what happened.
He never was able to take the job from Rhamondre Stevenson. Strangely, we saw Henderson have the presumptive breakout when Rhamondre missed two games with an injury. Henderson showed us his upside with 243 yards and 5 touchdowns over those two games. Historically, once that happens, you have the boring veteran, an injury opens the door for the young, talented rookie, and he runs away with it. That is what we all thought was about to happen. You don’t put the proverbial genie back in the bottle. Except that’s exactly what the Patriots did.
Most importantly, they told us how they feel about this backfield in the four most important games of the season, which were the NFL playoffs. Henderson’s snap share in those games: 38%, 40%, 7%, 40%. Compare that to Rhamondre: 65%, 59%, 93%, 63%. The fantasy points aren’t even close. Henderson did not top 7.5 fantasy points in any of those games. In the AFC Championship game, he had 0.5 fantasy points. Meanwhile, Rhamondre had 15.8, 12.1, 7.1, and 17.3.
If we want to get into the talent, sure, Henderson is the more dynamic player. He’s more explosive. I get all that, but the data suggests that Rhamondre is just a better player. Yards per route run, Rhamondre wins 1.45 to 1.02. On 15-plus-yard rush rate, Rhamondre wins 6.9% to 5.6%. Fantasy points per opportunity, Rhamondre wins 1.07 to 0.93. Any data you use, any way you slice it, Rhamondre is just the all-around better player. All the reports out of training camp are that this is not a 1A, 1B situation. This is Rhamondre as the starter and TreVeyon as the backup.
I don’t rule out the possibility that Rhamondre could get hurt or Henderson could improve and earn his way into maybe the 1A role at some point this season. But for my money, I believe that unless Rhamondre gets hurt, there is no path to Henderson being anything more than an RB3 who is volatile, who has a couple of splash plays every now and then.
I think Rhamondre is clearly the better option. The fantasy community is finally catching up to this, but I’ve had Rhamondre ahead of TreVeyon all summer, and I continue to believe that is how it should be. Draft the starting running back over the backup running back. Rhamondre is the better player, and he’ll be the better fantasy asset.
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TreVeyon Henderson’s Week 1 Fantasy Outlook
Analysis provided by PFN Analyst Kyle Soppe.
His logging only 35 touches last postseason (70 for Rhamondre Stevenson) when every single snap mattered was concerning. It was the continuation of a trend that we saw during the regular season: “trust” is valued by this coaching staff in a major way.
I do think we see a shift with time, in part because the Patriots are now operating with expectations. It’s easy to lean into the stable veteran when you’re overachieving and the role of the run game is to keep the offense moving, but with them now being expected to do great things, I think they lean into the upside option of Henderson more as this season wears on.
But not in Week 1.
Seattle was the best third-down defense a season ago (32.1%, league average: 39.5%), and if you’re aligned with me in assuming that Henderson is RB2, not RB1b out of the gates, the fear of short drives is too much to get him into your lineup.
Patience is a virtue, and I ranked Henderson over Stevenson this preseason knowing the schedule and having this train of thought. Sometimes you lose a battle before you end up winning the war.
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Where Henderson Ranks Among 2026 Running Backs
- Quinshon Judkins | CLE
- Jadarian Price | SEA
- Bucky Irving | TB
- Jaylen Warren | PIT
- Rhamondre Stevenson | NE
- TreVeyon Henderson | NE
- Chuba Hubbard | CAR
- Tony Pollard | TEN
- Kenny Gainwell | TB
- Jonathon Brooks | CAR
- Jacory Croskey-Merritt | WAS
Want to dive in more? PFN's Complete PPR Running Back Rankings are updated weekly.
