Patriots
After scoring two touchdowns in the preseason, Henderson is becoming a popular pick in fantasy football drafts.
Fantasy football players only needed to see a handful of plays from TreVeyon Henderson in the preseason to buy into his stock.
The Patriots’ rookie running back has quickly become a popular pick in fantasy football drafts as the preseason ends and the regular season nears. On ESPN, Henderson’s average draft position is 52.2 (in point per reception leagues) as of Sunday. That’s a roughly 15-spot average draft position improvement over the last seven days, which is the seventh-highest among all players in that span.
Earlier in the week, fantasy football expert Field Yates noted that Henderson’s average draft position was at 60.3, writing that his average draft position improved by over 20 spots in the week before that.
Henderson had an average draft position of 60.47 in National Fantasy Football Championship leagues entering August, according to The Athletic. That improved to 37.42 as of Friday.
Henderson has experienced a similar jump in Yahoo Sports leagues, too. After having an average draft position of 67.5 entering the preseason, Henderson’s average draft position has improved to 51 over the last seven days in half-point per reception leagues.
The rookie has been, on average, the 20th running back drafted in Yahoo Sports leagues. That position is higher than Rhamondre Stevenson’s, who has, on average, been the 36th running back drafted in Yahoo Sports leagues. Stevenson is listed as the No. 1 running back on the Patriots’ unofficial depth chart, but an undisclosed injury recently sidelined him. He is not expected to miss time in the regular season.
Even though Stevenson is listed as the Patriots’ RB1, Yates believes that Henderson is simply the better player between the two, which has led to his climb in fantasy football drafts.
“He’s a better receiver. He’s outstanding in pass protection. This guy is a stud,” Yates recently said on ESPN’s fantasy football show. “I would imagine he’s one of the biggest ADP (average draft position) in fantasy football this preseason.”
Yates also thinks that strategy might be another reason for Henderson’s rise in fantasy football drafts.
“During our 10-team mock draft, during our 10-team draft, somebody picking No. 32, which is someone who won’t pick again until No. 48, took TreVeyon Henderson,” Yates said. “I thought to myself, ‘That’s quite early.’ But he said, ‘I’m not getting him in the fifth round.’ That’s true.
“If you’re picking toward one side of the extreme or the other, you got a target you want, you don’t bypass that player. That player is not going to be there, most likely, when you come back around.”
ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter also seems to think Henderson’s rise up draft boards is justified. He listed the Patriots rookie as one of a few running backs taken in the middle rounds of fantasy football drafts who could outplay their average draft position.
“Demonstrated speed, elusiveness and big-play ability this preseason and will be used in conjunction with Rhamondre Stevenson,” Schefter wrote.
At long-time fantasy football expert Matthew Berry’s Fantasy Life, Henderson recently went from the 24th-best running back to the 18th-best running back for fantasy football in 2025.
“While I still think veteran Rhamondre Stevenson will have a large backfield role, I must admit that the second-round rookie has looked electric in the preseason,” Matthew Freedman wrote. “Even with a part-time role, Henderson might be a strong producer, à la 2023 De’Von Achane and 2017 Alvin Kamara.”
As Freedman mentioned, Henderson’s ability to make electric plays was on full display in the preseason. He turned his first (unofficial) NFL touchdown into a touchdown by returning a kickoff against the Commanders 100 yards. He took off for an 18-yard run that game and rushed for an eight-yard touchdown against the Vikings. In between that, Henderson dazzled those who attended the Patriots-Vikings joint practices in Minnesota with a grab that he turned into a long touchdown.
It’s still unclear if Henderson will play like that in games that actually matter. If he does, maybe Patriots fans hoping to get Henderson on their fantasy football teams might have to do so even earlier next year.
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