FOXBORO — With Josh McDaniels returning as offensive coordinator, it’s not a huge shock that the Patriots emphasized finding a running back in the draft who can thrive in the passing game.
Selected 38th overall, running back TreVeyon Henderson has the potential for a more well-rounded game than some of the other third-down backs who played under McDaniels with the Patriots. But Henderson has spent some time watching retired Patriots great James White early in his tenure in New England.
“He dang near looked like a receiver, but, man, he was a great running back here.”
Henderson, who caught 77 passes for 853 yards with six touchdowns in his four-year college career at Ohio State, explained what he was looking for while studying White.
“Really, just his great receiving ability that he had,” Henderson said. “You know, one-on-one matchups, it seems like he was winning every time. But, man, he was such a great player. He’s made a huge impact to help his team win games. Just running routes outside the backfield and stuff, and so, yeah, I really want to continue to watch film, study and learn and grow as a player.”
Henderson, like White, is an undersized running back at 5-foot-10, 202 pounds. He wasn’t just known for his pass-catching and blitz pickup abilities with the Buckeyes, however. He was one of the fastest running backs in college football over the past four seasons and rushed 590 times for 3,761 yards with 42 touchdowns.
White was the latest in a line of great third-down backs who played under McDaniels with Kevin Faulk, Danny Woodhead and Shane Vereen coming before him. Dion Lewis also overlapped with White.
White was the rare running back who actually finished his career with more receiving yards (3,278) than rushing yards (1,278).
Henderson is expected to be able to take on more of an early-down between-the-tackles role with the Patriots, sharing the backfield with Rhamondre Stevenson and Antonio Gibson.
That’s something he’s used to. Another Ohio State running back, Quinshon Judkins, was selected two picks before Henderson, going to the Browns with the 36th overall selection.
“The biggest thing that taught me last year is … learned how to be unselfish,” Henderson said. “I learned how to put the team over my individual goals and what I wanted to accomplish. And so that’s the biggest thing coming here. I just want to give it everything that I got to really help this team however I can.”
Henderson’s speed has been fun to observe during OTAs and minicamp. Running backs really have a chance to stand out during training camp when the pads come on. The Patriots will begin training camp on July 23.
