TreVeyon Henderson: Patriots' Explosive RB Rookie Set for 2025 Fantasy Impact

This article series will look at 2025 NFL rookies and break down the full scope of their situation – their talent level and their projected opportunity – and weigh its merits against the emerging ADPs of those rookies following the NFL Draft.

This article will look at TreVeyon Henderson, the Ohio State running back selected in the second round (38th overall) by the New England Patriots. As of Thursday the ADP on Underdog listed Henderson at 64.2, which is around the beginning of the sixth round.

Previous posts in series: Dallas Cowboys running back Jaydon Blue (here), Chicago Bears wide receiver Luther Burden (here).

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SKILL SET

Henderson (5-10, 202) lacks anchor compared to some other running backs, namely Rhamondre Stevenson or even Antonio Gibson, but Henderson can generate some leg drive force through his motor and absolutely has the temperament for power running concepts, even if it's not his primary strength. In that sense, it's fair to refer to Henderson as a Speed Back, but there's still a difference between a Speed Back who can execute power concepts and one that can't.

Although he can execute power concepts competently, Henderson is not a big back and never served as a workhorse at Ohio State. His heaviest workload was 15.6 carries per game in 2023, but he missed three games that year with an undisclosed injury, and he missed five games in 2022 with a foot injury that eventually required surgical repair. It's possible that Henderson's ideal NFL utilization might look a lot like his senior-year utilization with the Buckeyes, who spared Henderson some of the most collision-prone play designs and gave them to denser fellow back Quinshon Judkins. Henderson definitely has the temperament and conditioning of a three-down workhorse, but it might be ideal for his longevity to only use him that capacity in emergency situations.

In terms of big-play ability Henderson is probably one of the better running back prospects going back some number of years – his very good-not-great speed (4.43-second 40) sort of plays up because of his motor, and if defenders spend time processing they might not get to their gap before Henderson does. Henderson finished his Ohio State career with blistering efficiency, averaging 6.4 yards per carry with a 7.1-percent touchdown rate as a runner over 590 carries. Although Henderson never accumulated big volume in a single season, that is extremely explosive production over a quality volume sample.

Good as Henderson might project as a runner, he might project even better as a passing-down back. Henderson should be one of the league's better pass-catching threats at running back even in 2025, and it's fair to wonder if he has even more pass-catching upside than he showed at Ohio State. His four years with the Buckeyes yielded 77 receptions for 853 yards and six touchdowns on 95 targets (81.1 percent catch rate, 9.0 YPT), which is an output so explosive it makes you wonder what might happen if you drove up the target volume. Henderson shows the ability to stand out both on primitive setups like screens/checkdowns as well as more ambitious routes like ones run downfield or out of the backfield.

If Henderson can dominate as a pass catcher then it would overrule most or all concerns there might be regarding his usage volume. There's reason to think that Henderson might be so good as a receiver that he could stand out as a fantasy asset even on as few as 10 carries per game, and he otherwise should be able to be at least an emergency short-term workhorse if Stevenson or whoever is unavailable.

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ATHLETICISM

Henderson's 4.43 40 was more of a checked box than a truly impressive showing at 202, but between his fast processing, hot motor and quick acceleration he poses a constant, major big-play threat if the defense gives him runway.

Henderson shows a standout cutting ability, both on simple jukes and more jump-cut types of moves, so although he didn't do any pre-draft agility testing there's reason to assume Henderson should be one of the better NFL backs in terms of change of direction and stop/start.

As a pass catcher Henderson shows an easy ability to sync up his route with the development of the play, including the trajectory of the ball. His collegiate pass-catching production was characterized by pretty much automatic big-play returns.

How does TreVeyon Henderson stack up against the rest of the NFL? Visit our fantasy football PPR rankings for a list of the top players for the remainder of the season.

COMPARISON AND 2025 PROJECTION

Henderson doesn't have any meaningful weaknesses and should project as a standout contributor for pretty much any kind of running back task, though maybe with an emphasis on in-space and pass-catching functions.

Henderson's skills and conditioning are easily that of a three-down workhorse, but he stayed healthiest at Ohio State when given workload relief from power functions. For this reason it might be best for Henderson's usage to be selectively deployed despite his ability to stand out at most or all running back tasks.

Henderson will never have his playing time subject to review for performance reasons, however – in addition to his solid skill foundations as both a runner and receiver, Henderson never fumbles and is a uniquely good processor in blitz pickup. His prescience at identifying and preemptively striking the blitz threat is almost goalie-like. In a funny way, Henderson's blitz pickup could be his main fantasy liability, not because he's bad at it but the extreme contrary – he's so good at blitz pickup that it might tempt the playcaller to use Henderson as a blocker rather than a route runner – but that should probably be considered a Good Problem to have.

COMPARISON: Henderson is adept at all conventional running back tasks, but he might be a little unique in the exact way his skill and athletic traits present. I have to cheat on this one and go with a blended comparison – Henderson is something like ¼ Justice Hill, ¾ Michael Bennett. Hill pertains to the frame and passing-down ability, while Bennett is mentioned because Henderson is a much better from-scrimmage threat than Hill, and Bennett was quietly one of the better big-play threats of the 2000s with a similar speed-oriented game.

2025 PROJECTION AND ADP: If you want to acquire Henderson best ball shares then it generally will require a pick in the early sixth round (64.2) on Underdog, which generally slots him after veterans like Chuba Hubbard (56.6), Kenneth Walker (58.3) and Alvin Kamara (61.8). James Conner (67.6) and David Montgomery (70.8) usually go shortly after Henderson.

Among the rookie running backs the nearest in the ADP are RJ Harvey (54.4), Quinshon Judkins (73.2) and Kaleb Johnson (76.0).

Henderson lands at RB21 in the ADP, so we might think of his general positional range being between RB18 and RB24 in most drafts. This is not exactly cheap – fellow rookies like Judkins, Johnson and even Cam Skattebo (98.6) have plausible means of matching or exceeding Henderson's fantasy upside, mostly because they all likely have higher volume upside than Henderson. Henderson is much more explosive than those three, though, and doesn't need as many snaps to pay off as a fantasy investment. 

Henderson's explosiveness gives him a way to prove sufficient as a fantasy RB2 even on as few as 500 snaps from scrimmage. In other words, Henderson doesn't need to fully displace Rhamondre Stevenson to acquire sufficient usage. If Henderson removes Stevenson then great, but it still isn't necessary to justify exposure to Henderson at his current ADP.

The New England offense will be improved in 2025 and the addition of Henderson figures to be a big reason why. What was an anemic rushing offense in recent years should become robust and explosive with Henderson acquiring double-digit carries per game even if Stevenson does the same. With the ability to produce big per-play returns as both a runner and receiver, Henderson should provide RB2 utility if splitting work with Stevenson and would provide potential RB1 utility if Stevenson were phased out or unavailable for whatever reason.

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