Super Bowl-Winning Coach Heavily Endorses This Patriots Draft Pick

The New England Patriots selecting Ohio State running back TreVeyon Henderson early in the second round may have had some scratching their heads.

But not former NFL head coach Jon Gruden.

Gruden, who now works for Barstool Sports, applauded the move by the Patriots as he feels New England landed a difference-maker on the offensive side of the football.

“New England just got themselves a great running back and an even better guy!!” Gruden wrote on X alongside a video of him meeting Henderson. “Good luck with the Patriots, TreVeyon!”

From the video Gruden posted, it looked like he worked out Henderson this offseason and went over pass protection and routes out of the backfield.

NFL draft expert Daniel Jeremiah praised Henderson’s pass-protecting ability and the 22-year-old Ohio State product is known for being a home-run threat anytime he touches the ball.

The Patriots certainly need that in their offense as they lacked dynamic playmakers the last several seasons. Henderson ran for 1,016 yards this past season for the Buckeyes and averaged 7.1 yards per carry, which led the Big 10. Henderson also recorded 27 receptions for 284 yards and a score.

Henderson could potentially turn into a three-down back and give the Patriots a different look compared to Rhamondre Stevenson and Antonio Gibson. And if Henderson handles the transition to the NFL well, perhaps the Patriots view Stevenson and Gibson as expendable.