Patriots' Josh McDaniels Showers Patriots' Rookie RB With Praise

Patriots' Josh McDaniels Showers Patriots' Rookie RB With Praise originally appeared on Athlon Sports.

The New England Patriots may have found a hidden gem in the second round of the 2025 NFL Draft with the selection of running back TreVeyon Henderson. If you feel like it's a recurring theme to hear nothing but positive reports around the Ohio State product coming out of Patriots' camp, it's because that's been the case.

Henderson has seemingly done everything right, from working hard to displaying his talents, and it only continues to get brighter for the young back.

Last week, he made numerous catches out of the backfield during practice that caught the eyes of coaches, teammates and reporters and then he returned a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown on the first play of the Patriots' preseason opener.

TreVeyon Henderson was ELECTRIC!

He started the game with a 100 yard kick return TD and followed

Followed up by 3 receptions and an 18 yard burst run

It’s going to be hard for the Pats to keep this guy off the field

He’s skyrocketing up my rankingspic.twitter.com/uwQfOLvGhT

— Chris O'Brien (@17gamepace) August 11, 2025

Then, after another strong practice on Monday, his new offensive coordinator, Josh McDaniels, praised the rookie running back. When asked about Henderson, McDaniels couldn't find a negative word to describe the running back.

"Everybody sees TreVeyon the same way, you know. First of all, he's a tremendous kid, awesome individual, really hard worker. Smart kid, can process a lot of information, which allows you as a coach to try to use him in the ways that he should be used," McDaniels said. "Explosive, you know, I think we all saw that the other night, and tough, physical. So, I don't have many negatives to say about Tre, you know, but excited to coach him.

TreVeyon Henderson is crushing #Patriots camp🧑‍🍳

pic.twitter.com/v1ab8v5HLt

— TWSN (@TWSN___) August 4, 2025

"We've had some really good players with skill sets that are somewhat like his. Maybe nobody quite as fast as, you know, (Shane) Vereen was probably the fastest, him and Danny Woodhead were fast, but TreVeyon is fast, fast. So excited to be with him."

Henderson has displayed it all in his first offseason with the Patriots. He's been complimented on his pass protection ability, and he's more than demonstrated his ability to make a difference with the ball in his hand.

The versatile running back was already set to have a significant impact in the backfield alongside running back Rhamondre Stevenson in 2025. Still, he may take over the backfield if he continues to impress. His ability to run downhill and hit his top speed, along with his receiving ability, could provide him with three-down potential.

Not to mention his role on special teams. Although you can't expect him to return every kick for a touchdown like he did on Friday night, he flashed his explosive ability in the return game.

The Patriots' rookie will have a large role in 2025, but using him in the right way to get the best production will be the tallest task for McDaniels and special teams' coordinator Jeremy Springer.

Related: Patriots Rookie Making 'Special' Plays in Training Camp Drawing Attention

This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Aug 12, 2025, where it first appeared.