The Boston Sports Journal's Mike Giardi believes the Patriots' "RB pecking order is established," with Rhamondre Stevenson ahead of TreVeyon Henderson. "Stevenson is the between-the-tackles guy, and until proven otherwise, the most reliable back on passing downs," Giardi writes. "That’s not just for his blitz pickup, which is superior to Treveyon Henderson’s, but he’s surehanded and has continued to flash that this summer. ... As for Henderson, I told you I haven’t seen much improvement with his vision and patience, but I don’t have access to practice film."
What They're Saying: The Processing Must Catch Up
HC Mike Vrabel on where Henderson still needs to improve: "I would say that for a RB with his speed, sometimes it’s important that he sees it, and much like linebackers, that no step is better than a bad step. I think by understanding the front that’s out in front of the run or what it may look like at the beginning, whether there’s movement, and then what his adjustments are, I think some of that is starting to slow down for him and being able to see the picture of what it looks like and then potentially what it could look like a couple strides into the run. So, he continues to work at it, and the only way to improve at it is to work at it and see it, and he’s getting a lot of different looks from our defense in the run game as well.”
2026 Fantasy Football Impact: Projections Shift Toward Stevenson
Henderson flashed as a rookie, averaging 5.1 yards per carry and finishing as a top-16 PPR RB in all three games Stevenson missed.
But Stevenson beat Henderson in nearly every rushing and receiving efficiency metric last year, including:
- Rush yards over expected per attempt
- Yards after contact per attempt
- Missed tackles forced per attempt
- Yards per route run
Stevenson also iced Henderson in the playoffs, with a 58-30 edge in carries and a 15-6 advantage in targets.
We were optimistic about Henderson making a year-two leap and leading New England's backfield in touches this season. But it doesn't sound like that's happened yet.
Henderson still has time to make a move, but Stevenson looks like the better early-season fantasy bet right now.
We're adjusting our projections for the Patriots' backfield and will keeping monitoring the situation.
