Patriots Fans Will Love Monster Projection for Key Rookie

The New England Patriots have added a bunch of weapons this offseason, and perhaps the most interesting of all is running back TreVeyon Henderson.

The Patriots selected Henderson in the second round of the NFL Draft, which came as somewhat of a surprise given how much New England needed a wide receiver at the time (the Pats then took Kyle Williams one round later).

Henderson enjoyed a spectacular run at Ohio State and is coming off of a 2024 campaign in which he racked up 1,016 yards and 10 touchdowns while averaging 7.1 yards per carry, helping lead the Buckeyes to a national championship.

The 22-year-old stands a great chance of becoming the Patriots' featured back as soon as his rookie season, and Chris Trapasso of CBS Sports is expecting big things from him right off the bat.

Trapasso is projecting Henderson to carry the ball 192 times for 909 yards and seven touchdowns on the ground in 2025, which would represent one heck of a debut from the youngster.

"Henderson is a modern-day back coaches dream about, because of his three-down flexibility," Trapasso wrote. "He's a rock in pass protection, runs hard with plus cutting skill between the tackles, and, his specialty, generating huge plays as a receiver out of the backfield. ... Everything about his game indicates the rookie is ready to produce like a veteran instantly in the NFL, and he will on what should be a more efficient Patriots offense in 2025. And his coach, Mike Vrabel, did spend years leaning on a Derrick Henry-led ground game in Tennessee."

Trapasso ranks only Ashton Jeanty above Henderson in terms of rookie halfbacks, which is quite the compliment given the sheer amount of impressive running backs that were selected in the draft back in April.

We'll see if Henderson can breathe life into what has been a largely dormant New England rushing attack this coming fall.