Rhamondre

Stevenson

TreVeyon Henderson, meanwhile, had eight rushes for a meager 23 yards in the blowout loss to Jacksonville. Stevenson ran most of the pass routes out of the backfield and saw more targets than Henderson, as usual. It didn’t lead to much. Stevenson next week against the Bills will be a touchdown dependent RB3 option who should be kept on the bench in most fantasy formats.

Henderson and Rhamonrde Stevenson were bottled up in the first half before the Patriots abandoned the run game in the second half, down by three scores. Henderson nearly broke a couple runs in the first half but was tripped up before a big play could develop. A boom-bust running back option, Henderson will remain big-play dependent in Week 4 against a gettable Buffalo run defense. His lack of pass-game involvement will be an issue in PPR formats.

Stevenson started the game for the Patriots backfield but quickly fell out of favor after a first quarter fumble. He was out-snapped the rest of the game by TreVeyon Henderson, who saw 31 snaps to Stevenson’s 18. The Pats did get Stevenson going again in the second half; he ripped off a 24-yard run in the third quarter to extend a drive that ended in a missed field goal. Based on Week 2 usage, Stevenson is the starter but will be quickly yanked as his career-long fumbling issues continue. He is a FLEX play for Week 3 against the jaguars.

Henderson is now on track to play in Week 2. His return comes at a good time. The Patriots’ offense needs an explosive element. Although veteran RB Rhamondre Stevenson should be expected to remain the starter, the team should be able to get Henderson involved in space. Henderson can be treated as a FLEX this week.

With TreVeyon Henderson sidelined, Stevenson ceded just six attempts to backup Corey Kiner and two catches to practice squad call-up Lan Larison. That’s the good news. The bad news is that he was atrocious on the ground, averaging 2.8 yards per carry. New England rolled out a fairly predictable ground game versus the Seahawks, running on early downs with obvious run-focused personnel groups. That made Seattle’s job of bottling up Stevenson extremely easy. Drake Maye finished just four yards behind Stevenson despite running just seven times. As long as Henderson is out, Stevenson should hang out in the RB2 ranks based on his impressive workload. The efficiency should also improve next week when he takes on the Steelers.

Henderson did not practice at any point this week and should be considered questionable heading into Week 2’s games. Rhamondre Stevenson will get the bulk of the load against Seattle and should factor into the RB2 equation despite a tough matchup on paper. The Patriots also ruled out Ben Brown (knee), who did not travel with the team to Seattle.

Henderson traveled with the team to Seattle as it prepares for Wednesday’s game against the Seahawks, but he was unable to get on the practice field. That’s now back-to-back DNPs for Henderson, who is trending toward missing the season opener. Unless he can log a limited practice on Tuesday, it wouldn’t be surprising if Henderson was ruled out well before Wednesday’s game, paving the way for Rhamondre Stevenson to have a busy Week 1 in this rematch between last year’s Super Bowl contenders.

Henderson has missed multiple weeks of practice since sustaining an ankle injury on August 24. After being a DNP on Sunday, Henderson missing Monday’s practice would be a bad sign for his availability for Wednesday’s season opener against the Seahawks. The Patriots will take the field later in the day, so we should have an update soon on whether or not he’s with the team. If he’s unable to play on Wednesday, Rhamondre Stevenson would be in line to handle a significant workload against a stout Seahawks defense.

Stevenson’s position on the depth chart has been apparent for some time, but Reiss helpfully states it in plain terms after rhetorically asking how the Patriots will handle in-game running back reps if RB TreVeyon Henderson (ankle) cannot play in Week 1 against the Seahawks on Wednesday night. If Henderson is unable to play, Stevenson will likely take on a larger-than-normal workload, with RB Corey Kiner and practice squad members RB Lan Larison and/or RB Hassan Haskins serving as his in-house touch competition. Although the Seahawks field a top-tier run defense, Stevenson can be treated as a high-end RB2 if Henderson is out, thanks to his hefty workload.

Reiss also notes that the Patriots have three pre-Week 1 practices remaining, and Henderson has not practiced since August 24th, when he sustained the injury. One week ago, a Boston Globe report indicated Henderson should be “good to go” for Week 1 against the Seahawks. He still has time to get right, but veteran RB Rhamondre Stevenson can be treated as the team’s clear-cut lead back for the time being.