Rookies at first blush (pt. 2)

By: Josh Frey-Sam

Ashton Jeanty is the clear 1.01, but another running back emerged from the NFL Draft in a situation that checks damn near every box you could want in a top dynasty pick.

TreVeyon Henderson.

I’m officially planting the flag, Henderson is my guy in this year’s class.

There are a few things to keep in mind when looking to draft any player: draft position, measurables, talent and situation.

Henderson went in the second round, 38th overall to the New England Patriots. When a team spends that kind of draft capital on a player, especially an RB, you can bet they’ll want to get them involved in the offence.

At 5-10, 202 pounds, he doesn’t necessarily look like a workhorse running back, but believe me when I say he absolutely has three-down potential.

Which brings me to the talent. Henderson, nicknamed “The Speed God” throughout his college career at Ohio State, is a home run waiting to happen.

He’s the Jahmyr Gibbs of this draft and, quite honestly, there’s an argument to be made that he’s a better overall player than Gibbs was coming into the league. I say that because — and this ties into the three-down potential — Henderson is already a rock in pass-protection.

Want to know how to get in your coach’s good graces as a running back? Know how to pick up a blitz. That ability alone will earn him extra snaps.

That brings me to my final point: the situation. No, I didn’t forget about Rhamondre Stevenson, who was one of my favourite RBs coming into the league a few years ago.

‘Mondre is a good back, but you get the feeling he’s already falling out of favour in Foxborough. He averaged a career-worst 3.9 yards per carry last season (albeit behind a terrible offensive line) and coughed up the ball six times.

His contract also makes it easy for New England to move on from him after this season.

Consider what HC Mike Vrabel said before the draft: "Having a good young runner is potentially something that we'd like to do - the guys coming back, Rhamondre and (Antonio Gibson), I think were a good one-two punch."

The Pats entered the draft with the thought that they needed to upgrade their RB room, and they demonstrated that by spending a high pick on one.

I think this starts as a 1A, 1B backfield, similar to what Detroit does, with ‘Mondre starting. Don’t be shocked if Henderson quickly assumes the starting role, though. I don’t think ‘Mondre will even be removed from a gameplan this season, but there’s certainly a world in which it’s Henderson touching the ball 15-18 times per game.

Last point I’ll make (and this ties in with the situation): you want good players on good teams. The Patriots aren’t elite by any means just yet, but this is an ascending offence that you’re gonna want to have a piece of.

Pull the trigger on Henderson. I don’t think you’ll regret it.

Now let’s get to the rest of the notable RBs and my early thoughts on them entering dynasty drafts.

These players are listed in no particular order.

Running backs

Ashton Jeanty - Elite talent. Elite situation. The 1.01 in your draft, and he’ll be expected to produce like an RB1.

TreVeyon Henderson - My guy. See above.

Omarion Hampton - My favourite RB in the real draft. Yes, he’s head and shoulders above his running mate Najee Harris talent-wise, but don’t ignore Harris’ role this season. Hampton will be in a time-share this season but should erupt in 2026. He has everything to be a workhorse in a run-heavy offence.

Quinshon Judkins - I like the player, but I do have questions about the situation. Fellow rookie Dylan Sampson is going to have a role in this offence, and I wonder how much that could limit Judkins’ ceiling. Expect Judkins to be the Week 1 starter and goalline RB in this offence, though.

RJ Harvey - Broncos’ HC Sean Payton didn’t hide his feelings about his existing RB room very well. It was easy to predict Denver would draft a back, and Harvey was the pick. He should start from Week 1 and be given plenty of opportunities to succeed. My only concern is Payton has historically avoided giving a RB a workhorse role, which means you’ll need to rely on Harvey being efficient with his carries.

Kaleb Johnson - Like the player. Love the situation. Johnson has a path to being the main guy in Pittsburgh, where Jaylen Warren is also looking for touches. This will be a time-share to start, but Johnson is potentially a high-upside pick.

Jaydon Blue - Blue will be quiet to start the season, and he might need an injury to actually be relevant, but he could carve out a role for himself as a pass-catcher. He’s a very good route runner with solid hands and some real explosiveness. The problem is he'll be behind Javonte Williams and Miles Sanders to start.

Cam Skattebo - The Giants were about as good a place Skattebo could’ve landed. Similar to Stevenson in New England, there are questions around how loyal the Giants are to Tyrone Tracy Jr., the current projected starter. Skattebo’s punishing run style is also appealing to Brian Daboll.

Ollie Gordon II - A VERY intriguing sleeper in this class. Two years ago, Gordon looked like a first-round pick after being named the top RB in the country. He’s now a sixth-round pick in Miami, behind De’Von Achane, Jaylen Wright and Alexander Mattison. If he makes this team out of camp, Gordon is an injury away from making a real impact. He’s built like a workhorse.

Dylan Sampson - At this point, Sampson feels like one of the better handcuffs in the league. I don’t expect him to make an immediate impact, but he will get snaps in Cleveland’s offence alongside Quinshon Judkins.

DJ Giddens - I think Giddens could emerge as the RB2 in Indianapolis, making him an extremely important handcuff to Jonathan Taylor. Beyond that, don’t expect him to pop too much.

Jordan James - Any Niners running back should pique your interest. Yes, there’s CMC and Isaac Guerrendo ahead of James on the depth chart, but we’ve seen many times how quickly Kyle Shanahan’s offence needs to turn to a depth option. He’s a stash who could randomly become very relevant late in the year. Also, who knows how long CMC is in San Fran 👀?

Trevor Etienne - It’s tough to love the situation. He’s behind Chuba Hubbard and Rico Dowdle, and Jonathan Brooks will eventually re-enter the picture. Etienne is your typical change-of-pace back, so you could stash him if you have the space. I like other options, though.

I planned to write include RBs and TEs in today’s newsletter, but I wrote too much about these backs already. We’ll do tight ends on Saturday.

Thanks for reading and, as always, have a great day.

Josh