“HE WAS SUCH A GREAT PLAYER.” In an interview with
Forbes’ Oliver Thomas, Patriots running backs coach Tony Dews revealed he had done his homework on TreVeyon Henderson before New England selected him in the 2025 NFL draft.
Eight years of it, actually.
“I tried to recruit him back in high school years ago when I was at West Virginia,” said Dews, who was the running backs coach for the Mountaineers in 2017 before entering the NFL ranks with Mike Vrabel’s Tennessee Titans. “He snubbed me (laughs). But it was good to be able to reconnect with him. Obviously, I’m very excited about him.”
Now that Dews has circled back with Henderson, what excites him most about the No. 38 overall pick?
“First and foremost, he’s a great human being, he’s a great person and a great kid,” he said. “And then obviously the physical attributes. He’s certainly fast. He brings a speed element to our team that obviously anytime you can get a guy that’s as fast as he is, it is beneficial for the whole offensive unit and on special teams. And then, he caught the ball well out of the backfield. He did a really good job, I thought, in pass protection. And 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.”
Henderson hopes it materializes into an impactful role as a rookie. Given his talents as a ballcarrier, pass catcher and blocker, that role could be as a third-down back, just like three-time Super Bowl champion James White carved for himself across eight NFL seasons with the Patriots between 2014-21.
Interestingly, Henderson told
MassLive’s Karen Guregian last week that he’d taken inspiration from White’s game as he prepared for New England’s minicamp.
“James White… shoot, he dang near looked like a receiver,” Henderson said. “Man, he was a great running back here.”
Whether White or Detroit Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs, Henderson said he studies the NFL’s best ballcarriers to gain an advantage on his opponents.
“I really try to work on every aspect of my game,” Henderson shared. “Running the ball, pass protecting, catching. Every aspect of my game, I’m trying to get better.”
When it comes to White, however, Henderson sees something different.
“Just his great receiving ability,” Henderson said. “One-on-one matchups, it seems like he’s winning every time. … He was such a great player. He made a huge impact to help his team win games. … I want to continue to watch film and study him and learn and grow as a player.
“Coach (Josh) McDaniels, he’s a great offensive coordinator. He does a great job featuring the running backs, so the biggest thing, I just want to continue to listen as a player and take coaching.”
With the Patriots on a break until preseason camp, Henderson told Guregian he has the rest of his offseason mapped out.
“The biggest thing is just staying in the playbook and making sure I stay conditioned,” Henderson said. “Once you come in, fall camp comes on you like that. You don’t want to be thrown off guard and out of shape.”
Baker Mayfield calls Emeka Egbuka “cerebral” and “a nice luxury to have” at wide receiver, and TreVeyon Henderson says he wants to model his game after James White.
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