The New England Patriots are one win away from playing in the Super Bowl, and their draft class has played a major role in their success.
Second-round pick TreVeyon Henderson and sixth-round pick Andy Borregales were named to the Professional Football Writers of America All-Rookie Team after their stellar rookie campaigns. The team was announced on Tuesday.
Henderson and Ashton Jeanty were the two running backs named to the team, while Borregales was the lone kicker. Henderson was a standout in college and fell to the Patriots in the draft.
Henderson played in 17 regular-season games, but made just four starts. His starts came when Rhamondre Stevenson was out. Henderson had 911 rushing yards, 221 receiving yards and 10 total touchdowns.
The first half of the season was inconsistent for Henderson, but he started getting more opportunities in the second half of the year. He had 805 of his total yardage after Week 8.
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Borregales was the Patriots’ kicker from the get-go. He had an 84.4 field goal percentage this season and went 53-for-55 on extra points. He was 4-for-4 from beyond 50 yards this season. He also did not miss from inside 30 yards all year.
He missed a field goal in his debut and missed two extra points in Week 2. However, Mike Vrabel stuck by him. He did not miss an extra point for the rest of the season and missed just four field goals.
It’s hard to imagine the Patriots finding this kind of success without those two playing the way they have as rookies. However, they will need to continue to perform if the Patriots want to win the Super Bowl.
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