The New England Patriots have received very strong grades for their 2025 NFL Draft class — one that includes 11 players.
The Patriots did well to address several of their most glaring roster weaknesses, most notably left tackle, center, edge rusher and safety.
One specific Patriots pick that’s received a lot of praise is Ohio State running back TreVeyon Henderson, who New England selected with the No. 38 overall pick in the second round.
There’s a lot to like about Henderson’s skill set.
He’s very explosive, with the speed and agility to make game-changing plays. He protects the football at a high level. He’s a good pass-catcher out of the backfield. He ran for 1,016 yards with 10 touchdowns, while catching 27 passes for 284 yards and one touchdown for Ohio State last season.
The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman joins Tom Curran and breaks down what makes Patriots’ second-round pick TreVeyon Henderson such a dynamic running back.
Maybe the most impressive part of Henderson’s game is his pass protection. He picked up blitzes flawlessly for the Buckeyes.
Indianapolis Colts general manager Chris Ballard spoke to reporters at a post-draft press conference earlier this week, and he couldn’t resist mentioning Henderson when talking about young running backs and pass protection.
“Every running back coming into our league, the hardest thing for them is pass protection,” Ballard said. “All of them have to learn. There’s very few — like, I will say this. I thought Henderson at Ohio State might’ve been as good a pass protection back as I’ve seen come out of college.
“But most of them, they’re just not asked to do it at the level we are asking our guys to do it. Especially with the size of the men they have to block who are coming at them.”
Henderson’s running ability, pass-catching skill and reliability in pass protection make him a true three-down back.
It’s unknown how much he’ll play as a rookie with veterans Rhamondre Stevenson and Antonio Gibson ahead of him on the depth chart. But having a running back of Henderson’s caliber will definitely make offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels’ job a little easier.
