The New England Patriots had five turnovers in Week 3; four were fumbles, three of which came from the hands of both veteran running backs and two from the same player with Rhamondre Stevenson (2) and Antonio Gibson (1).
Since 2021, Stevenson has fumbled 16 times, which is the second-most in the NFL by a running back, and Gibson has 14 in that span, which is tied for the third-most in the NFL at the position.
The ball security from the veterans of the position group cost the Patriots a potential victory in Week 3 against the Pittsburgh Steelers, which also could’ve been New England’s first win of the season at home in Gillette Stadium.
The Patriots need positive and consistent production from the position. Through three weeks, the Patriots have only totaled 301 rushing yards, and they haven’t had a 100-yard rusher in a game this season.
Furthermore, if you remove the rushing yards from Drake Maye (87) and DeMario Douglas (4), the running backs only account for 210 rushing yards on the season. As a team, the Patriots have the 14th-lowest rushing yards per game at 100.3 yards.
- Rhamondre Stevenson: 87 rushing yards
- TreVeyon Henderson: 65 rushing yards
- Antonio Gibson: 58 rushing yards
TreVeyon Henderson Can Provide Spark to Patriots’ Run-Game
It might be time for the Patriots to take the leash off their rookie running back and allow him to do what he does best: make plays. In the first three weeks, Henderson has seen 78 snaps on offense, and he’s on the field in more passing situations than he is in running.
- 54 pass-snaps, 48 routes
- 24 run-snaps, 19 carries
While I understand that the plan is to use the rookie running back as a special package type of player in the passing game and using his 4.43 speed to get an explosive play out of the backfield on screens and wheel routes, the variance from run-snaps to pass-snaps seems too large (30).
That said, of the 48 routes that Henderson has run this season, he’s only been targeted 11 times. So if the plan is to bring him in for these passing situations, he’s not being targeted enough to justify that plan, not to mention that he’s struggled in pass protection.
One of the narratives as to why Henderson isn’t a three-down RB is because of his size, and I’m not saying that he should be, but he should be used in more running play situations and concepts than we’ve seen so far in the first three weeks.
Henderson is durable enough to withstand the full workload of an NFL running back, and the Patriots should start utilizing him more in that way. A player that comes to mind in this regard is three-time Super Bowl champion James White.
White was considered an undersized RB to play on all three downs, but when he was eventually given the opportunity, he proved that he was capable of being a do-it-all player, and I think Henderson will be able to handle the workload in a similar way that White did.
- James White: 5-foot-10, 205 lbs.
- TreVeyon Henderson: 5-foot-10, 202 lbs.
It’s also worth mentioning that if Henderson is only going to be used in the passing game, then it’s going to become predictable every time he’s on the field.
It’ll be worth it for the Patriots to use Henderson more in the running game as the season goes on.