The New England Patriots are heading into the 2025-26 season without a clear answer to who will be the primary running back.
The Patriots have multiple options, but Boston Sports Journal’s Greg Bedard gives affirmation on a specific player in the Patriots’ running back room.
Bedard shared on his podcast that he believes Rhamondre Stevenson will be the starter in Foxborough come week one of the new season.
“Absolutely,” Bedard said when asked if Stevenson will be the lead RB for the Patriots next season.
“We’ll see whether Antonio Gibson is here at the end of the day. I do think Antonio Gibson is a good back. I would love to see him. We’ll see if he sticks. And I don’t think that Treveyon Henderson is ready. I have doubts whether he will ever be ready for a full-time leadback role… I think Rhamondre Stevenson is going to be a very important piece. He’s going to be the first two-down running back.”
Greg Bedard Believes Run Game Helps Patriots
The Patriots had Rhamondre Stevenson and Antonio Gibson as the two main running backs on offense last season.
Stevenson and Gibson rushed for 1339 yards and 8 touchdowns last season. The pair registered 1713 total scrimmage yards.
“I do think a power running game is going to be very important to this offense, to Josh McDaniels and also Drake Maye,” Bedard said on the podcast. “And Mondre is going to be the focal point.”
The Patriots selected Treveyon Henderson in the second round of the 2025 NFL Draft with the 38th overall pick.
Henderson ran for over 1000 yards for the Ohio State Buckeyes last season, logging in 10 rushing touchdowns as well.
If the run game were to go well for New England, the Patriots could have one of the best backrooms in the league.
Absence of Rhamondre Stevenson
The New England Patriots held organized team activities (OTAs) with Stevenson notably missing.
The running back has been dealing with the loss of two close people in his life and has been taking time for himself.
“Running back Rhamondre Stevenson’s father, Robert, passed away in March at age 54. Stevenson also lost his childhood friend, Brandan Harley, last season,” ESPN’s Mike Reiss wrote. “Understanding that Stevenson has experienced sudden and heartbreaking losses in a short period of time, teammates privately say they hope to provide him as much support as possible once he starts spending more time at the facility.”
With Stevenson being gone, other players in the running back group have been using OTAs to make their best impression.
According to 98.5 Sports Hub’s Alex Barth, UDFA running back Lan Larison has been impressing the team.
“I’ll talk about Lan Larison… he was on the field with the top unit quite a bit. And that’s with Rhamondre Stevenson not there, so it comes with that caveat,” Barth said on Catch-22. “But you talk about that third running back spot, kinda seems like he’s pushing Antonio Gibson already.”
