TreVeyon Henderson’s pass blocking in his senior season at Ohio State was so good that it was publicly praised by the general manager of an NFL team that didn’t even draft him.
The New England Patriots drafted Henderson with the No. 38 overall pick in Round 2 of the 2025 NFL draft, seven picks before the Indianapolis Colts – who drafted Henderson’s Ohio State teammate JT Tuimoloau instead – would have had the chance to draft Henderson with their second-round pick. Yet even though Henderson went to one of the Colts’ AFC rivals, Colts general manager Chris Ballard went out of his way to praise Henderson’s pass-blocking ability during his post-draft press conference on Saturday.
“I think any running back coming into our league, the hardest thing for them is pass protection. Like, it's just, all of them have to learn,” Ballard said while answering a question about DJ Giddens, the former Kansas State running back that the Colts drafted him in the fifth round. “I will say this: I thought Henderson at Ohio State might've been as good a pass-protection back as I've seen come out of college. But most of them, they're just not asked to do it at the level we are asking our guys to do it, especially with the size of the men they have to block that are coming at them.”
Colts GM Chris Ballard said new Patriots RB TreVeyon Henderson
— Josh Norris (@JoshNorris) April 28, 2025
"might've been the best pass protection back I've seen come out of college" https://t.co/3qyQ2Oglqi pic.twitter.com/iBDOCU2FA2
While it’s common for NFL general managers and coaches to rave about the ability of their own draft picks, it’s far less common for an NFL GM to give unsolicited praise to a player drafted by another team – especially considering the Patriots and Colts were considered rivals back when Tom Brady quarterbacked New England and Peyton Manning was the QB in Indianapolis.
That speaks to just how effective Henderson was as a pass protector in his final season with the Buckeyes as he helped lead Ohio State to a national championship. While Henderson was best known at Ohio State for his home-run playmaking ability, as best evidenced by his game-changing 75-yard catch-and-run against Texas in the Cotton Bowl, his blocking also frequently made the highlight reel this past season as he made massive strides in that area under first-year Ohio State running backs coach Carlos Locklyn.
TreVeyon Henderson pass pro is the football version of if he wanted to he would. If the 510/202-pound RB is blocking like this no one has any excuse pic.twitter.com/ogUWqIfXLc
— James Foster (@NoFlagsFilm) March 22, 2025
“There's been a lot of work that goes into that, man,” Henderson told Eleven Warriors in November when asked about his improvement as a pass blocker. “Pass protecting as a running back is not easy, it's a tough job, but I'm willing to do it, especially for the love of my brothers. That's something I've been praying on is just laying down my life for the love of my brothers and not being selfish, and I think when it comes to pass protecting, that is a huge part of not being selfish, willing to lay your life down for the quarterback so he can pass the ball to the receivers so they can get the ball.”
Ballard is far from the only NFL talent evaluator to take note of Henderson’s pass-blocking excellence. NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah, who was a longtime NFL scout before he made the move into media, also described Henderson as “one of the best pass-protecting running backs I’ve ever evaluated” during NFL Network’s broadcast of the NFL draft.
"My favorite thing that I've seen in this draft is the pass protection tape for TreVeyon Henderson. There's nothing like it. ...He's one of the best pass protecting running backs I've ever evaluated." - Daniel Jeremiah
— Jordy McElroy (@JordyMcElroy) April 26, 2025
Patriots general manager Eliot Wolf also cited Henderson’s pass-blocking ability as one of the reasons why they drafted Henderson, as Wolf said the Patriots view Henderson as someone who can be a three-down running back for their offense.
“He's a really good pass protector,” Wolf said. “He can run routes, he can catch the football, but he can also run inside. He's not a grinder between the tackles power runner, but he has good vision. He hits the hole hard. He has good feet and obviously has the speed to run outside, so we just feel like he has that toughness and versatility.”
