Patriots coach excited about impressive rookie running back
FOXBOROUGH – Before the start of the second round, the Patriots front office was engaged in a debate.
One argument was for Arizona guard Jonah Savaiinaea, who projected as the team's starting left guard. The other side wanted running back TreVeyon Henderson. While the two sides discussed each player, Patriots running backs coach Tony Dews waited and hoped he'd finally land the impressive prospect who once rejected him.
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In 2017, Dews recruited Henderson to come to West Virginia. The 5-star recruit was the nation's top-ranked running back and ultimately committed to Ohio State.
When the second round began, the Miami Dolphins traded up, one spot ahead of the Patriots, and drafted Savaiinaea. The Patriots then turned down several trade offers and selected Henderson with pick No. 38.
Dews was thrilled to land the young running back.
'It's exciting,' Dews said. 'As assistant coaches, you evaluate the guys they give you to evaluate and you have an opinion on them. At the end of the day, we're going to coach whoever they put in our room but certainly, he was a guy who had done some really good things in college and he fits some of the needs that we felt like we could address with our running back situation.
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'I was very excited about it. I tried to recruit him back in high school - years ago when I was at West Virginia. He snubbed me. But it was good to be able to reconnect with him. Obviously, I'm very excited about him and what he might be able to do to help us going forward.'
The Patriots have big plans for Henderson.
After committing to Ohio State, he turned into one of the best running backs in college football. With game-breaking ability, Henderson averaged 6.8 yards per carry his freshman season, finishing with 1,248 yards and 15 touchdowns. After dealing with some injuries (fractured left foot in 2022 and ankle/knee injury in 2023), he showed his explosiveness last season.
Sharing the backfield with Quinshon Judkins, Henderson averaged 7.1 yards per carry and finished with 1,016 yards and 10 touchdowns.
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During the pre-draft process, Dews found himself enamored with Henderson - both as a person and as an athlete. The 22-year-old's well-roundedness impressed the Patriots running backs coach.
'First and foremost, he's a great human being, great person, great kid,' Dews said. 'Obviously, the physical attributes. He's certainly fast so he brings a speed element to our team that anytime you can get a guy as fast as he is, it's beneficial for the whole offensive unit and special teams. And then he obviously caught the ball well out of the backfield. He did a really good job I thought in pass protection.
'In the time I got to spend with him, he seemed to pick up concepts fairly quickly. With all those things, you feel like you're getting a good prospect, and we'll have to see how it materializes from there.'
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