Ohio State Buckeyes running back TreVeyon Henderson went right to work on his scouting report as a true freshman in 2021. And now, as the 2025 NFL Draft cycle begins, that report is back in the spotlight. What have three seasons taught us about Henderson, and how far could he rise in 2025?
TreVeyon Henderson’s Draft Profile and Measurements
- Height: 5’10”
- Weight: 208 pounds
- Position: Running Back
- School: Ohio State
- Current Year: Senior
Throughout his football career, Henderson has confirmed himself to be a prodigy at the running back position. At Hopewell High School in Virginia, he rushed for over 4,000 yards and 50 touchdowns in his career. Even with his senior season canceled by COVID-19, he was a five-star recruit.
As a true freshman at Ohio State — the school that produced Ezekiel Elliott, J.K. Dobbins, Carlos Hyde, and others — Henderson started 11 of 13 games played. And in just his third career game at the collegiate level, he broke Archie Griffin’s single-game rushing yardage record.
In that legendary true freshman season, Henderson amassed 1,248 rushing yards and 15 rushing TDs on 183 carries, while also catching 27 passes for 316 yards and four scores. A foot injury limited Henderson to just eight games in 2022, but in 2023, he bounced back with 1,155 total yards and 11 TDs on the ground.
Whenever Henderson is on the field and at 100%, he makes a difference. But now, with several injuries on his record and a backfield to share with Quinshon Judkins in 2024, his true 2025 NFL Draft valuation is unclear. Is Henderson still in the early-round mix?
Henderson’s Scouting Report
Strengths
- Has a compact, squatty, well-leveraged frame with good relative mass and density.
- When healthy, has elite one-step explosiveness, generating instant momentum on cuts.
- Has the long speed to create chunk plays with narrow creases and house short passes.
- Urgent, fleet-footed dynamo who can rapidly realign his base and surge through lanes.
- Has the hyperactive twitch to work defenders off-balance in space, then punish.
- Can use base flexibility to manipulate vertical angles in space while keeping speed.
- Has good initial baseline vision and has superb peripheral vision at the second level.
- Can quickly identify early contact threats and adapt early in reps with agility.
- Pierces second-level seams with burst, combative style, balance, and tempo freedom.
- Has the high-level balance to suddenly recoil and recalibrate his base out of contact.
- Able to fight through contact with stubborn, grating leg churn and physicality.
- Maximizes physicality with lower body activation, pad level, and forward-pressing energy.
- Stellar hands catcher with legitimate coordination and receiving instincts.
- Explosive, instinctive RAC weapon who can reset his feet and string defenders in space.
- Competent pass blocker who stays square, shoots his hands, and has great vision.
Weaknesses
- At times, shows slight hip tightness, needing to supplement transitions with stutters.
- Vision and creative instincts, while solid, collectively fall short of the elite mark.
- Unblocked defenders incite tempo reductions and bouts of hesitation behind the line.
- On occasion, shows a lack of comfort navigating in close quarters through congestion.
- Will sometimes defer to direct contact if there isn’t an excess of space at his disposal.
- Sometimes overlooks lateral cutback chances and is most comfortable working vertically.
- Extraneous use of space can snag runs and give defenders more time to fill gaps.
- Despite high-level force output, visibly lacks the elite mass to bowl over defenders.
- Is a dynamic RAC threat but has room to expand his route tree past screens and swings.
- Could be more consistent when it comes to sustaining blocks past first contact.
- Dealt with a foot injury in 2022 and missed time with an undisclosed injury in 2023.
- Broken bone in foot detracted from explosiveness in 2022 and required surgery.
- Will turn 23 years old in October of his rookie campaign.
Current Draft Projection and Summary
Entering the 2025 NFL Draft cycle, Henderson grades out as a potential top-50 prospect. Henderson’s durability will be the biggest variable regarding his ultimate draft capital, but if teams clear him on medical checks, there’s no reason he can’t be an early-round pick and an impact player on his first NFL contract.
At 5’10”, 208 pounds, Henderson perfectly fits the mold of the dynamic two-phase, three-down modern NFL weapon.
As a runner, Henderson is a forward-pressing brawler with the twitch to warp spatial relationships and the tenacity to capitalize. As a receiver, he’s a diverse RAC threat who can be employed in various ways. His speed and explosiveness serve as central traits across both realms.
Henderson would have been a candidate for RB1 on my board had he declared for the 2024 NFL Draft. He’ll have steeper competition in 2025, but his profile is still very complete, with the top-end physical qualities to imply dynamic upside.
Because Henderson translates better when he’s tasked with efficiently working upfield, he’d likely fit best in inside zone, gap, and counter schemes. Yet, his speed ensures that he can provide value in wide and outside-zone concepts as well. Henderson’s receiving ability will also make him a weapon on later downs right from Day 1.
The biggest question for Henderson and his NFL projection is whether or not he can stay healthy, and for how long. Since 2021, he hasn’t been able to play a full season. Still, even if a team only gets one full contract out of him at peak form, he can be an electric weapon over that time span.
