Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Leap: Patriots’ TreVeyon Henderson Faces Pivotal Second Camp

Starting point is 00:00:01 The months of July and August could be the two biggest months of Travion Henderson's NFL career. This is Locked-on Patriots. You are Locked-on Patriots. Your daily New England Patriots podcast. Part of the Locked-on Podcast Network, your team every day. What's happening? I am your host, Nick Cattels. Today's episode is brought to by O'Doo.

Starting point is 00:00:30 Great organizations win because operations matter, and that's why you should get O-Doo. Try for free today at O-Dill. do dot com slash lockdown. That's ODOO dot com slash lockdown. On today's show, Quran Pronte's mini camp and how big it would be if the Pats hit on the fifth round pick.

Starting point is 00:00:48 In the second segment, we have to stop trying to figure out what Robert Kraft and the Pats will do in the post Bill Belichick era. But first, a significant sophomore. One of the biggest questions for this offense, I believe coming up in July, is whether or not we see a.

Starting point is 00:01:06 leap from second year running back, Trevion Henderson. You know, when you look back at Henderson's 2025, some ebbs and flows when it came to snap rate. Week six before Ramandre Stevenson's injury, Travion Henderson, 29.7% of the snaps. Week seven, that number fell to 13.8% of the snaps. Week 8, 20.6% of the snaps. The snaps for Trayvion Henderson then went dramatically up with Ramandre Stevenson out due to injury. And then after once Ramandre Stevenson came back from injury, it was obvious to me. It was obvious to you. It was obvious to everybody watching this football team that the Patriots were managing Ramandre Stevenson.

Starting point is 00:01:55 They were trying to save him for the postseason. Then you got to said postseason. And what we saw from Trayvion Henderson's snap rate was mostly consistency, but a really strange thing happened in the AFC championship game. So in the wildcard round, Trayvion Henderson, 40.6% of the snaps. In the divisional round, that was 38.5%. In the Super Bowl, let's just skip over the AFC championship game for a second. In the Super Bowl, 39.4% of the snaps.

Starting point is 00:02:27 So 40.6, 38.5, 39.4. However, in the AFC championship game, Trabian Henderson played in only 6.3% of the snaps. He was an afterthought in that game plan. Now, was it because of weather? Was it because the nature of the game and the pass rush and the Patriots didn't trust Trayvion Henderson to protect Drake May? I don't know. I don't know. But there were obvious and definite ebbs and flow. ups and downs to Trayvion Henderson's usage during his rookie season. And it didn't feel like the Patriots trusted Trayvon Henderson anywhere near as much as they trusted Ramandre Stevenson, especially towards the tail end of the season. And so this is critical to the offense. Trayvion Henderson making a leap in year two would be gigantic for Josh McDaniels.

Starting point is 00:03:22 It is critical to this offense because Trayvion Henderson, as I mentioned, during yesterday's episode about the boxes that need to be checked, the 12 spots that need to be filled, according to Daniel Jeremiah of the NFL network and what makes a team have a championship foundation. One of those things is three offensive playmakers. Now, Trayvion Henderson is an offensive playmaker. He made plays last year. He made house calls last season.

Starting point is 00:03:51 We all remember the Tampa game, for example. We all remember the Jets game. He made house calls. and he had an absolute impact. But Trayvion-Henerson, he is going to be responsible for the vast majority of the explosiveness in this run game.

Starting point is 00:04:07 Ramandre Stevenson's a good back. Sometimes he's a really good back. And I am a fan of Ramandre Stevenson. But he does not give you that consistent explosivity. Doesn't mean he can't give you a big run or two. Doesn't mean he can't come up with a big play. Can't come up with a big catch. But the snap to snap, week in, week out,

Starting point is 00:04:27 explosion in the run game where you can turn a five-yard run into the house call. That is Trayvion Henderson's lane. Terrell Jennings is not doing that at running back three. Land Larison, if he ends up winning the running back three job, he does not bring that. Jam Miller, not nearly as much. Miles Montgomery, not nearly as much. So the explosivity in the run game is highly dependent on Trayvion Henderson's effectiveness. So if he has a big step forward in year two, the run game should be even better.

Starting point is 00:05:02 Another part of this is the more that you can play Travion Henderson, the less reliant you are on Ramandre Stevenson. And I want Ramandre Stevenson to be the bull. I want Ramandre Stevenson to be the thunder and the thunder and lightning. I want him to feel like he has almost a full tank of gas, or at least as full as the tank of gas can be if slash when you get to the post season in 2026. And the more that you can give the football to Trayvion, the more you can rest, Ramandre Stevenson.

Starting point is 00:05:33 You can keep him fresh throughout the year. Running back three is an unknown, folks. We know that. It's an unknown. I just mentioned the names. Is it going to be Terrell Jennings? Is it going to be Lan Larison? You know, Terrell Jennings, we know what he is, mostly in between.

Starting point is 00:05:51 the tackles, not super explosive, pretty dependent with the football. But nothing great, with all due respect. Land Larison, we called him like the Rex Burkehead clone a year ago before he got hurt. So we'll see how much explosivity he has post injury. And then you've got Jam Miller, seventh round pick, and Miles Montgomery, the UDFA. So I don't know how much you're going to get from your third running back. This is going to be mostly Ramandre Steventon and Trayvion Henderson. And if you want your run game to be the best that it can be,

Starting point is 00:06:29 you need Henderson to be better than he was last year. You need Henderson to be better, if not much better, in past protection. You need to protect your franchise quarterback. And way too many times, way too many times last year, did we see Trayvon Henderson, who came into the league with a great reputation as a past protecting running back, a guy who could do the job against blitzes. Way too many times last year did we see Trayvion Henderson miss a blitz, miss a block.

Starting point is 00:07:02 Treyk Bay running around like a chicken with his head cut off because Henderson was lost. Can't have that happen in year two. Some of that you can explain away in a rookie season, the speed of the game, not quite ready for what's coming at him, different looks, all that type of stuff, right? the pre-snap versus the post-knap. The quarterback certainly can help him and should be better this year in that category as well. But you need to protect Drake May.

Starting point is 00:07:29 And if Trayvion Henderson cannot protect Drake May, he's not going to be out there a ton on third down. And when you think hypothetically of a Trayvion-Henderson impact, you think of a guy who is going to play on third down. his past receiving skills, again, the explosion that he brings. But if he's not capable of blocking and protecting the franchise, then he's not going to get nearly as much opportunity on third down as you hoped that he would. And as I hoped that he would.

Starting point is 00:08:05 So he needs to be better in past protection. That is number one. Number two is his vision. His vision inside the tackles, his patience at times. We saw, you know, instead of being somebody who was patient and let the hold develop and had the good vision and made the one cut back to get an extra five or six yards, a lot of times we saw last year, he would just run into the middle of a pack. A lot of times he would get you what was there, quote unquote.

Starting point is 00:08:38 He needs to have better vision, especially when he's running inside. and he needs to have more patience. But if Trayvion Henderson takes a step forward, that is big time for the Patriots, and he becomes an even more significant weapon for Josh McDaniels and this offense, and he makes this offense that much more dangerous. This is a gigantic training camp

Starting point is 00:09:05 for your second year running back. That is not hyperbole. This is a gigantic camp. for Trayvion Henderson. Hopefully he shows out. Coming up, a Pat's insider has concerns about the Patriots keeping one of their studs long term. This is Lockdown Patriots, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network.

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Starting point is 00:11:53 I still believe that a gonzo extension gets done sometime in July, but even if he gets a deal done, there is one insider that still is not bullish, is not bullish on Christian Gonzalez staying in New England for the long term. Thank you for making us your first listen and for being an everydayer. Get your daily Patriots fix completely ad free by joining the Everydayer Club today. start your seven-day free trial right now and get closer to your team without the interruptions. You know, I was in the Discord last night, and I posted a video of Gabe Accus, who was moving around pretty well during workouts, getting ready for training camp, presumably. I'm going to be a lot more active in the Discord this season. So check it out, Lockdown Patriots.

Starting point is 00:12:37 com to claim your free trial. Also, don't forget, if you're watching us on YouTube, how you doing? What's going on? Don't forget to click the thumbs up. Give us that like, helps us with that algorithm. Don't forget to throw a comment in as well. Your thoughts on Trayvion Henderson's second training camp in the NFL. And do not forget to subscribe.

Starting point is 00:12:58 We're trying to hit 10,000 subscribers. That is the next goal. You can help us get there. Tell your family, tell your friends, tell your fellow Patriots fans, like, comment, and sub. Again, I truly believe that Christian Gonzalez's extension is going to get done before the season kicks off. But is this going to be a short-term union, even if Christian Gonzalez signs an extension?

Starting point is 00:13:22 Does that mean he's going to actually be a patriot for the long term? Mike Giardi wrote this at Boston Sports Journal in the last day or so. The Pats will almost certainly have to do something with A.J. Brown's contract because he has only $4 million in guarantees for 2027. You don't trade a first and fifth to be a one-and-done scenario. that will be big money. Drake May is eligible for his massive extension next offseason. That means if the Pats pay Christian Gonzalez what he's worth, they'll have three guys at or near the top of the market.

Starting point is 00:13:57 Ownership has never done that before. They should, but until they do, I'm dubious. Now, I understand the point. I understand the point that Mike Giardi is making. And I do think that it's a reasonable question to ask. and I also think it's reasonable for some to be, quote, unquote, dubious. But I have multiple counterpoints to what Mike Giardy wrote. Number one, when Bill Belichick was let go by the Patriots,

Starting point is 00:14:27 there was this conversation about how the Patriots would do business. And many people looked at how business was done from 2000 to 2023 and said, Robert Kraft, he tends to be cheap, he won't do this, he won't do that, the Patriots won't do this. The Patriots won't do that. Now, I, on the other hand, said, hold on, pump the brakes. I don't put that all on crap because I was of the belief that Bill Belichick ran the football program. And I thought some people were trying to have it both ways, where they told you that Bill Belichick was responsible for everything under the roof at Gillette Stadium in that facility. But yet, it was convenient when the money wasn't being spent as much as it was supposed to be spent or people wanted

Starting point is 00:15:09 it to be spent. All of a sudden, Robert Kraft was brought in. And I believe that Bill Belichick ran the program. I believe Bill Belichick made the vast majority of financial decisions. I believe that Bill Belichick was the one that looked at that roster. He divvied up the financial pie between the positions. And he made certain decisions based on how he felt about that player and what he thought that player was going to do for him in the future. He was in control. And I had said, You can go back and watch any podcast that I did. You can listen to any radio segment that I did. I said it at the time.

Starting point is 00:15:47 Let's see how Robert Kraft does business now that Belichick is gone. Because if I were right and Bill Belichick was responsible for a lot of the decisions that Robert Kraft was thrown under the bus for financially, then we might see something different. And don't you know? don't you know that some of the Robert Kraft takes from prior to 2024, some of those prior takes, they don't stand up the last three years. We heard that Robert Kraft would not spend a lot of money.

Starting point is 00:16:25 He wouldn't spend a lot of money, especially in consecutive years. He certainly wouldn't want to spend a lot of money in three straight off seasons. Well, what do you know? The Patriots spent money in 2024. They spent money in 2025. they spent money this off season. We heard the Patriots won't bring in A.J. Brown without making another significant financial move. There was the conversation of maybe Michael Wenu would get cut or traded. Maybe Christian

Starting point is 00:16:52 Bormor would be cut or traded. The Patriots traded for A.J. Brown. And guess what? There was no corresponding significant move financially. Now, maybe it will come. But I can only tell you what's happening as of this week. And as of right now this moment, recording this podcast and recording this episode, there was not a big Michael Wenow move. They changed some of the language in the contract. They gave him more guaranteed money as a matter of fact than what he was set to make guaranteed wise with that little tweet. And there's been nothing done with Christian Barmore's contract.

Starting point is 00:17:28 So that thought was wrong. Robert Kraft would allow the Patriots to bring in A.J. Brown without some kind of corresponding significant financial move. We were told by many people that the Patriots don't really want to bring in a number one wide receiver. They don't truly want to invest the type of money that it would take, even though we had a lot of reporting. Some people still stood by that, right? Some pundits, some talking heads, some writers, they still stood by that. I don't believe the Brennan Ayuk stuff. I don't believe the Calvin Ridley stuff. It's just the Patriots are cheap. they'll never pay for a number one receiver.

Starting point is 00:18:08 They'll never make an investment. They won't make a big move for a top guy at that position. Here we are with A.J. Brown. So that's the first thing I would say. That's my first counter. Let's not try to guess or predict what this team is going to do now because there have been so many wrong predictions as far as how Robert Kraft would tend to his business

Starting point is 00:18:31 over the past three seasons and off season. So let's just put. that to the back burner. Secondly, there is lots of money coming off the books in 27, folks. There is lots of money. All of these guys could be gone. Michael Wenu, last year of his contract, nothing beyond this season. Carlton Davis has an out. Christian Barmore has no more guaranteed money left on his deal. Robert Spillane has an out. Morgan Moses. Patriots have an out. Kevin Byrd. is on a one-year deal.

Starting point is 00:19:07 So Michael Wenu, Carlton Davis, Christian Bormore, Roberts-Pelain, Morgan, Moses, Kevin Byrd, and more, and more players could all be gone by this off-season. And if they're not gone, they could certainly many of them, aside from Michael Wenow, who again is legitimately an unrestricted free agent when this season is over unless he signs a deal during the year, if he signs an extension that obviously changes. But those names that I just gave you, if they're not gone, they could certainly restructure and be less money. So the cash that is set to be paid out to these guys, it's just not going to get paid out.

Starting point is 00:19:47 The guys I just mentioned, they're not going to get the cash that they're set to have. And this is why we talk about draft and development. You are supposed to structure your team where you are prepared to bring in the young guys who get paid less money to replace the older guys getting paid more money. And if the Patriots do it right, they absolutely could have A.J. Brown, Drake May, Christian Gonzalez, Milton Williams, and other players making decent or great money on the roster. That's the plan. It should be the plan. What is the plan? If you're the Patriots, if I am supposed to believe that the Patriots could sign Christian Gonzalez to a contract extension, but not keep him long term, that begs the question, then what is their plan? What's the point? why would you pay Christian Gonzalez a big pot of money as a bonus and then trade him later on? You're going to pay him tens of millions of dollars up front in a signing bonus just to trade him a year or two later. That's bad business.

Starting point is 00:20:47 Would you not just trade Christian Gonzalez right now before you give him that extension if you're not going to want to have him long term and pay him long term? Now, maybe the argument is you don't give him a contract. extension. I just don't think that's going to happen. I think somehow, some way, Christian Gonzalez will play for more money this year than he is set to make. Could be a tweak, could be a full-on extension. I think it's going to be an extension. But if you extend him, why would you just get rid of him a year or two later? You know, the Jets did this with Saus Gardner. But I'm not sure how it makes sense from a financial standpoint for the Patriots. That's what we're paying attention to here. We're not talking about football moves and in value and assets and draft capital and what return you get for Christian

Starting point is 00:21:32 Gonzales. We are strictly talking about financially. How in the world would it make financial sense to dump tens of millions of guaranteed dollars as a signing bonus onto the lap of Christian Gonzalez to only pivot a year or two later and trade him? You just paid him tens of millions of dollars to hang around? Like it would just make more sense to tweak the contract, keep them for one more year and then maybe try to deal them next off season. And speaking of plan, like, what's the point of being a draft and developed team if you don't keep your best players? And the Patriots have gone on record several times saying we want to be a draft and

Starting point is 00:22:09 developed team. They've also gone on record several times saying they want Christian Gonzalez to be a part of this team and a piece of the puzzle for a lot of years moving forward. So again, am I saying, am I saying there's no shot that this is, that Mike Giardy is right? No, of course not. Those are just, I think, four reasonable counters to the idea of, well, they could sign him and then eventually walk away from him. I don't know how that makes sense. Could the Pats have found a diamond in the fifth round and what that would mean for the franchise?

Starting point is 00:22:42 That's coming up next. This is Lockdown Patriots, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. Workplace chaos can show up fast. The problem is that finding the right candidate can take a lot more time than most big. businesses can afford. That's where Indeed, sponsored jobs comes in. Indeed, sponsored jobs helps you reach candidates who actually fit what you're looking for based on

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Starting point is 00:23:21 through the chaos, this is a job for Indeed sponsored jobs. And listeners of this show will get a 75 dollar sponsored job credit to help get your job the premium status it deserves at indeed.com slash podcast just go to indeed.com slash podcast right now and support our show by saying you heard about indeed on this podcast again it's indeed dot com slash podcast terms and conditions apply need to hire this is a job for indeed sponsored jobs karan prunty was the most controversial pick the pats made in this year's draft but one low.

Starting point is 00:24:00 writer is already intrigued by what he sees from the rookie. Thanks for checking out the lockdown podcast network. Now the number one sports podcast network, help a brother out, like, comment, and subscribe. There are some people concerned with the cornerback depth of this team. And I'm just wondering, it absolutely strikes me as a,

Starting point is 00:24:23 you know, a first world problem here. Because I'm wondering, how many teams do you think can go forward? to five cornerbacks deep. And I'm not just talking about having four or five cornerbacks on your roster. Every team in football will have five corners on their roster when camp breaks. I'm talking about how many teams in the NFL do you think have four to five good,

Starting point is 00:24:47 if not really good corners? How many? Is there one? Is there two? I mean, this is when I look at the roster and sometimes I shake my head and I say, So what we're really discussing here is not having the, you know, embarrassment of riches. And I would say the Patriots actually do have the embarrassment of riches at corner. Christian Gonzalez, Carlton Davis and Marcus Jones, you could argue the Patriots have the best three cornerback tandem in the entire NFL.

Starting point is 00:25:22 But yet, people have concerns about the depth. Again, I understand about you would want somebody as a fourth. cornerback who was trusted and really good. Yeah, in a perfect world. I would want every position backed up with multiple guys who are really good. Now, the depth for the Patriots, Charles Woods, Kindle Vildor, I mean, I say it all the time. That name is like a Lord of the Rings name or something. Kindle Vildor, Karan Pronti, Marcelus Dyle. And you do wonder about Koran Pronti, who was a polarizing pick in the fifth round for the Pats back in April. But Evan Lizar, after watching minicamp, he wrote, Pronti has grown on me over the course of the spring. He has the physical tools,

Starting point is 00:26:09 particularly the length to play on the outside. If he can improve his technique and patience in single coverage, there could be something there. Now, of course, Evan Lazzar is not telling us that Karan Prunty is going to be a starting corner in the NFL. He's just telling you that he's intrigued by what he has seen so far. And so Quran Prunty, this is not a guarantee, far from it, of course. It's just a conversation.

Starting point is 00:26:35 It's a hypothetical scenario. Quran Prunty, if he ends up being a piece, like a legitimate piece in the secondary, that would be huge for the short term and long term of this team. I just mentioned last segment that Carlton Davis has a contractual out after this season. season. We could be looking at Carlton Davis and say, we appreciate what you did for us the first couple of years, but we as a football team, we're going to move on, moving in a different

Starting point is 00:27:08 direction. We could be saying Carlton Davis, he gone by the 2027 off season. Wouldn't be surprised that all of Carlton Davis was cut after this year. So that's number one. I think it's, I would say, more likely than not, that Carlton Davis will not be in New England. England in 27. So with that in mind, having somebody who you believe could take over as the number two outside corner in house would be so significant. Also, going back to the last segment, if you're going to pay Christian Gonzalez like a top corner, it is much easier to pay Gonzalez like that top corner if you have an affordable option as your second outside corner. The Quran Pronti's contract, because he was picked in the fifth round, it is cheap by NFL standards.

Starting point is 00:28:02 Right now he's making less than a million dollars, 9991 grand. Now, I would like that. You would like that. But he's an NFL player. That is, you know, close to bottom of the barrel money. So 991 grand this year. The most he's set to make on his rookie contract is only $1.3 million. And that's through the 2029 season.

Starting point is 00:28:22 So if you do step up and pay Christian Gonzalez this big fat contract extension, it's easier to absorb if you got a guy making a million bucks at the other outside corner position instead of the what, 15 to 20 that Carlton Davis makes on the books. The other part of this would be if Quran Prunty proves to be a legitimate piece, that would speak volumes for Justin Hamilton as a cornerbacks coach. And we can look at Justin Hamilton and say the secondary was good last year, but I think anybody coaching this particular secondary, we would look at it and say, well, you know, the Jimmy's and Joe's versus the X's and O's,

Starting point is 00:29:04 the Jimmy's and Joe's versus the coach. It is easier to have your secondary play well when you have Christian Gonzalez, Carlton Davis, and Marcus Jones. You know, Mike Pellegrino of the Belichick era was also there for Gerard Mayan in 2024, cornerbacks coach. He did a great job of developing, improving corners, especially, you know, when he was there in the latter years. I mean, the examples, you know, J.C. Jackson, Jonathan Jones,

Starting point is 00:29:32 Marcus Jones. You know, those are three names of guys that, you know, they developed and they became much more than you thought. I mean, they exceeded all expectations. And that was under Mike Pellegrino's watch. Can you get that same kind of development at the cornerback position with Justin Hamilton as a cornerbacks coach. If Karan Pronti becomes a piece,

Starting point is 00:29:53 that would be a notch. That would be a notch in Justin Hamilton's belt as a coach. And of course, if Karan Pronti becomes a piece, that gives you even more confidence in the drafting and scouting of this team. The drafting and scouting chops would be there. So, interesting player. Keep an eye on. Karan Pronti at training camp.

Starting point is 00:30:16 That wraps up this edition of Lockdown Patriots. Thank you for making us your first listen and for being an everyday. Reach out to me on Twitter at Nick C. Radio. And don't forget to throw a comment in on the YouTube channel, hit that like button and subscribe. And if you never miss an episode, the Everyday Club is built for you. Get Lockdown Patriots, ad free. How's that sound?

Starting point is 00:30:34 Plus members only, discord access and more, head to Lockdownpatriots. com or check the link and the show notes to learn even more. Have a great weekend and we will see you next time.

Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Leap: Patriots’ TreVeyon Henderson Faces Pivotal Second Camp

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