The Patriots went into the 2026 offseason trying to make their ground game sturdier and more punishing. The idea was straightforward: improve the blocking, create cleaner lanes, and let Rhamondre Stevenson and TreVeyon Henderson do the rest.
New England added free agent tight end Julian Hill and fullback Reggie Gilliam to help turn that plan into reality. But the injury bug has already complicated things. Hill is out for the season, and Gilliam is now being considered day-to-day as well.
Even with those setbacks, the Patriots’ backfield is drawing major respect. CBS Sports’ Jared Dubin ranked the NFL’s top 10 running back duos, and Stevenson and Henderson landed at No. 4.
"It would have been hard to imagine this duo landing anywhere on this list midway through last season, when Stevenson faced fumbling issues and Henderson could barely get on the field," Dubin wrote. "But then Stevenson went out with an injury, Henderson blew up in his absence, and Stevenson played the best football of his career once he returned.
Now these guys look like a pairing that can each do a little bit of everything, including hit on big plays both on the ground and through the air. If Henderson's pass blocking improves, then they can be truly interchangeable three-down backs.
And considering that blocking was considered a strength of Henderson's coming out of Ohio State, the safe bet is on him getting there. The Pats have a really good duo here."
That kind of placement makes sense when you look at how the two backs have developed. Stevenson has spent five NFL seasons as a dependable, productive runner, with ball security standing out as the main issue.
In 2024, that problem showed up in a big way when he fumbled seven times. He steadied himself in 2025, though, putting the ball on the ground only three times and none after Week 5 while turning in a solid season.
Henderson brings a different kind of threat. Drafted in the second round, he was brought in to provide the explosiveness - the lightning to Stevenson’s thunder.
Once he got past an early benching tied to pass protection, he caught fire. Henderson finished with four runs of 50 yards or more, 911 rushing yards, nine rushing touchdowns, 35 receptions, 221 receiving yards and one receiving score.
For a rookie season, that’s as loud as it gets.
The Patriots already have one of the league’s best quarterbacks in third-year star Drake Maye, and pairing him with a backfield like this gives the offense a real foundation. It was a major factor in New England’s 2025 Super Bowl run, and with a stronger receiving group that includes A.J. Brown and Romeo Doubs, the Patriots enter 2026 with a lot working in their favor.
In Other News...
Patriots Camp Just Sent A Troubling Message About The Receiver Battle
Training camp has only just opened, but the Patriots are already making the kind of roster moves that tend to tell you where the real battles are. New England claimed rookie wide receiver Kobe Prentice off waivers from the Panthers, a move that came with a corresponding release of first-year offensive lineman Sebastian Gutierrez, and the team also added tight end Jeremiah Franklin and Gabe Jacas as it continued sorting through the early camp mix.
For a receiver group trying to establish itself under Mike Vrabels staff, the timing matters. The Patriots have been busy with fan events, practice sessions and a round of press conferences from Vrabel and team executives, yet the more revealing news has come in the personnel churn around the bottom of the roster. Adding Prentice gives the group another young name to watch, and the fact that New England felt the need to keep adjusting the board this early suggests the competition at receiver is already getting tighter than anyone would prefer. [Read more 🡒]
Patriots Camp Just Dropped An Early Roster Clue Fans Will Obsess Over
Mondays training camp walkthrough gave a quieter look at the Patriots roster picture after two faster-paced practices, but even in a lighter session, a few pecking orders stood out. Lan Larison kept working as the third running back behind Rhamondre Stevenson and TreVeyon Henderson, which is the kind of early camp detail that usually matters more than the drill itself.
At receiver, Kyle Williams and Efton Chism III continue to rotate in the fight for what appears to be the next depth opening behind the established top options. The tight end group is also worth watching, with Tanner Arkin getting meaningful reps as the Patriots sort through the fallout from Julian Hills season-ending injury and try to settle on who can handle the next layer of the depth chart. [Read more 🡒]
Romeo Doubs Is Already Facing Pressure In Patriots Camp
Romeo Doubs arrived in New England with a chance to carve out a real role, but the early returns in camp have been uneven. Through offseason workouts and the first two training camp practices, the receiver has looked like he is still getting comfortable in Josh McDaniels offense, with route adjustments and the timing of reads still a work in progress as he tries to settle in alongside Drake Maye.
The bigger issue for Doubs is that the competition around him is not standing still. DeMario Douglas has been handling the slot work, Kayshon Boutte has looked ahead of him on the boundary, and the Patriots have not even reached padded practices yet, which means the pace is only going to pick up from here. With preseason games approaching, Doubs has time to close the gap, but he also has to show he can turn a slow start into something more convincing before the depth chart hardens. [Read more 🡒]