Former Ohio State running back TreVeyon Henderson arrived in Columbus as a highly touted prospect out of Hopewell, Virginia, and quickly established himself as one of the most dynamic backs in Buckeye history.
In his freshman season, he set school records with 1,248 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns, including a 277-yard, three-score outburst that shattered Archie Griffin’s single-game freshman mark.
Over four seasons, he piled up 3,761 rushing yards and 42 touchdowns on the ground while adding 77 receptions, finishing as a key contributor on the 2025 national championship team.
That production, speed, and playmaking ability made him a second-round selection by the New England Patriots in 2025, where he was expected to inject the same explosive element into an NFL offense.
According to Fox Sports, however, Henderson has now been identified by writer Henry McKenna as the top trade candidate on the Patriots roster ahead of the November 10 deadline.
McKenna acknowledged that teams generally do not want to move a back who can still produce long runs, yet suggested the Patriots might listen if a substantial offer arrived.
The reasoning centers on Henderson’s tendency to run into his own blockers and his struggles in pass protection—areas that have limited his overall impact despite flashes of the home-run speed that defined his Ohio State career.
Through six games this season, he has managed roughly 200 rushing yards and a single touchdown on about 50 carries, numbers that reflect both reduced volume and the lingering effects of ankle issues that have kept him from the consistent workload he enjoyed as a Buckeye.
For Ohio State fans who watched Henderson break loose against Michigan, Oregon, and Texas in the College Football Playoff, the idea of New England moving him so early in his professional career is genuinely shocking.
He was not merely a productive back in Columbus; he ranked among the program’s all-time leaders in career rushing yards and touchdowns, trailing only legends like Griffin, Ezekiel Elliott, and Eddie George in several categories.
His combination of vision, burst, and receiving skills made him the kind of versatile weapon that modern offenses crave.
Seeing that same player listed as expendable after only a year and a half in the league underscores how quickly the evaluation can shift when blocking assignments and efficiency fail to match the pure athletic upside that once made him a first-team All-Big Ten selection and a national champion.
Whether the Patriots ultimately field offers or retain Henderson as a complementary piece behind Rhamondre Stevenson, the mere suggestion of a trade highlights the gap between college stardom and early NFL consistency.
Buckeye supporters who still associate him with those signature long runs and championship moments will find the possibility difficult to reconcile, even if the on-field metrics have not yet matched the promise that carried him from Hopewell to Columbus and then to Foxborough.
