The New England Patriots don’t need to stretch the definition of an excellent backfield to place Rhamondre Stevenson and TreVeyon Henderson among the NFL’s best.
Both players surpassed 900 yards from scrimmage during the 2025 regular season.
And only three other running back pairings reached that standard, via Football Database’s leaguewide yardage totals.
Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery led the qualifying group with 2,747 combined yards for the Detroit Lions.
D’Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai produced 2,333 for the Chicago Bears, while Jaylen Warren and Kenneth Gainwell totaled 2,314 for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Stevenson and Henderson ranked fourth within that exclusive group with 2,080 combined yards.
Requiring each player to reach 900 yards shows which teams received significant production from two different members of the backfield.
New England was one of four.
Stevenson, Henderson Made Patriots One of Four
GettyFoxborough, MA – January 22: New England Patriots running backs Rhamondre Stevenson and TreVeyon Henderson at practice on January 22, 2026. (Photo by Barry Chin/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
Henderson led the Patriots with 1,132 yards from scrimmage during his rookie season. He rushed for 911 yards and nine touchdowns while averaging 5.1 yards per carry, then added 35 receptions for 221 yards and another score.
Henderson also led the team with 215 touches and 10 total touchdowns after New England selected him with the 38th pick in the 2025 NFL draft.
Stevenson, despite playing only 14 regular-season games, finished with 948 yards from scrimmage, including 603 rushing and 345 receiving.
His receiving total exceeded Henderson’s and reinforced why the two backs offered more than a traditional early-down and change-of-pace split.
Henderson supplied the long-range speed and breakout, game-changing runs.
Stevenson’s game has extended to certain physical work and mental work, like knowing and executing protection responsibilities, while also supplying important rushing and receiving plays.
Their production did not peak at the same time, either.
Henderson’s biggest stretch arrived during the middle of the season, while Stevenson later took over the majority of the postseason workload.
Patriots Backfield Still Has Room to Climb in 2026
GettyFoxborough, MA – June 11: New England Patriots running backs at minicamp on June 11, 2026. (Photo by Barry Chin/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
New England finished behind the other three qualifying backfields in combined yards, so the 900-yard benchmark doesn’t settle the argument over which pairing belongs at No. 1.
But it gives the Patriots a credible place in the discussion.
Henderson created the third-highest explosive-run rate among qualified running backs last season.
Stevenson averaged 5.7 yards per carry over his final eight games, including the playoffs, which ranked second among NFL running backs during that stretch.
The Patriots averaged 4.4 yards per carry in 2025, ranking 14th, but finished 25th in EPA per rush and power success rate.
Explosive gains lifted the overall average while down-to-down consistency remained an issue.
Henderson can raise the floor by improving his reads between the tackles and becoming more dependable in pass protection.
Stevenson can build on the late-season stretch that made him New England’s primary postseason back.
The Patriots already know both players can produce meaningful yardage across a full season.
Few teams could say the same about two running backs in 2025.
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