The New England Patriots are one of the NFL's hottest teams as they enter Week 7 on a three-game winning streak. Things got better for them as they took first place in the AFC East, and Patriots fans hope to see the momentum continue to grow when New England visits the 1-5 Tennessee Titans this weekend.
This will be the first time that Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel will coach against his old team since leaving the Titans following the 2023 season. As emotions run high, New England fans are wondering what the backfield will look like this week, and whether rookie running back TreVeyeon Henderson will cut into Rhamondre Stevenson's workload.
Although the fan base is ready for the first-year RB to be unleashed, it doesn't seem like the staff is quite ready to fully trust Henderson, judging by the latest comments.
Patriots Are Playing Long Game with TreVeyon Henderson
Following Thursday's practice, Patriots running backs coach Tony Drews spoke about Henderson's playing time, seemingly hinting that the team is hesitant to throw the rookie into the fire.
"In the preseason, everything is pretty vanilla. Then all of a sudden you get into the season and the game-planning part of it, and now people are game-planning us based on what they see and what they’ve seen us do," Drews said, via ESPN's Mike Reiss. "So looks change. Things change... When you’re playing a lot in the preseason, you’re not playing against the same vets that you’re playing against (now). He is progressing well, moving right along."
Although the Patriots' patience is understandable, so is the fact that fans are disappointed about Henderson's usage. He has plenty of talent but hasn't been given enough opportunities to make an impact, and now it sounds like New England's coaches want him to get to a certain point before they throw more on his plate.
Following Antonio Gibson's season-ending injury, many expected to see Henderson see more snaps immediately, especially with Stevenson having some struggles this season. Against the New Orleans Saints, Stevenson had 46 snaps compared to Henderson's 19. Even though Stevenson hasn't been great this season, Henderson has had his own issues.
An area of improvement for Henderson that has limited his role is his pass protection. With his struggles in pass protection, it's a detriment to the offense, as when Henderson is in the game, it's more likely that it's a run play. If the Patriots want to get Henderson on the field more, one way to help is by deploying more two-back sets with both Stevenson and Henderson on the field. This way, you could hide if it's a run or not by making the defense focus on both of the backs.
While Henderson still has some growing pains to get through, this matchup with the Titans could be a favorable start. On the season, Tennessee is allowing 133.7 rushing yards per game (25th) and 4.5 yards per carry (20th), as well as a league-worst 11 rushing touchdowns.
This week is prime for Henderson to make some noise and make the coaching staff look to utilize him more. If the Patriots RB successfully capitalizes on any chances he sees, Vrabel's hesitation might finally disappear.