The New England Patriots have not had a player win Offensive Rookie of the Year since Curtis Martin in 1995. That could change this year according to NFL.com’s senior editor Dan Parr.
Parr believes that second round pick TreVeyon Henderson, who just signed his contract this weekend, has the eighth best shot to take home the hardware.
In fact, the writer took it a step further, saying that it will be made apparent this season that the first year player out of the defending National Champion Ohio State University Buckeyes is the best running back on this roster.
“Yes, Henderson will compete against Rhamondre Stevenson and, to a lesser extent, Antonio Gibson for carries, but I expect it to become clear relatively quickly to head coach Mike Vrabel that the rookie is the best back to feature in his offense,” Parr writes.
Henderson is competing against a stacked running back class. Two running backs, Omarion Hampton and Ashton Jeanty, found their way on Parr’s top five. But Henderson was able to edge out a couple of other ball carriers from the class.
“It was a tough call for the final rusher to include in my top 10, with RJ Harvey and Kaleb Johnson also earning consideration, but I like Henderson’s situation and all-around game the most of that trio,” Parr concludes. “The New England offense has a chance to be better than people expect in Drake Maye’s second season, thanks in part to the arrival of the former Buckeye.”
Examining New England’s Back Field
Everything has changed between this year and last. However, with that in mind, I would like to take a look at last season’s carry share.
Four running backs received carries for New England last season. However, the bottom two on the list combined for just 18 carries. So really it was a two man backfield.
Rhamondre Stevenson started 14 of the 17 games. He missed two due to injury, but, if you remember, there was also one game in which Antonio Gibson got the start because ex-head coach Jerrod Mayo wanted to make a statement about Stevenson’s ball security (eye roll).
Stevenson toted the rock 207 times to Gibson’s 120, totaling nearly 300 more yards on 0.6 less yards per rush.
Stevenson put the ball on the ground seven times last season, Gibson only twice. However, Stevenson found the end zone eight times last season and Gibson was only able to punch it in once.
There was a clear hierarchy between the two 27-year-old backs last season, with neither one being a real factor in the passing game. It will be interesting to see if that is where Henderson, who is notably a good pass protector, will carve out his role to start the 2025 season.
Examining Mike Vrabel’s Back Field Tendencies
This is a difficult comparison to draw, as Vrabel benefited from handing the football to a Hall of Fame ball carrier in Tennessee. However, in his last season with the Titans, Vrabel finally shifted to a running back by committee approach.
In 2023, Derrick Henry carried the ball 280 times and his backup, Tyjae Spears, hit triple digits.
The year prior Henry had 349 carries with no other running back tallying more than 25 carries. The year before that Henry suffered a season ending injury perhaps due to the workload.
I say that to say this, it will be interesting how Vrabel feels about having a three back rotation. Football is about adapting and I’m not making any predictions here, just presenting the facts.
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