Patriots Rejected Multiple Trade Offers to Draft Running Back in Second Round

The Pats really wanted their guy.

Vrabel helped preside over his first draft as Patriots head coach in April / Eric Canha-Imagn Images

The New England Patriots have been widely praised for their 2025 NFL draft class, with pundits and analysts from all corners of the football world highlighting the team's quality haul of talent in the weeks since.

One of their more controversial selections, however, came in the second round when the Pats chose Ohio State running back TreVeyon Henderson with the No. 38 pick. Henderson was seen as one of the better RB prospects entering the draft and New England needed an influx of youth at the position but debates over the value of picking a running back with other needs on the roster have raged and will continue to rage until the season starts.

As it turns out the Patriots wanted to pick Henderson so badly they turned down several trade offers to stay at No. 38 and take the Ohio State star. In the debut episode of the team's behind-the-scenes Forged In Foxborough series, cameras captured New England's draft war room while on the clock in the second round. Executive VP of Player Personnel Eliot Wolf received trade offers from the Chicago Bears and Houston Texans. The Bears offered the No. 39 pick and a seventh-rounder in the 2025 draft, while the Texans were willing to give up No. 58 and No. 79 as well as a 2026 third-round pick.

Ultimately, the Pats stayed put and took Henderson.

The Texans' trade package in particular would have been quite a haul to move down 20 picks in the second round. But the Patriots clearly believe in Henderson's skills and felt he was worth whatever was offered and more.

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