The NFL is heavily-slanted toward the passing game in this day and age, but that does not mean a running back cannot be of value as well. Take Rhamondre Stevenson. The New England Patriots’ top back in 2025, he is one of the most important players on the Super Bowl runner-up’s current roster, and once again projected to see a sizable workload in his sixth season in the league.
In fact, together with fellow RB TreVeyon Henderson, he might just be forming one of the top one-two tandems the league currently
has to offer. We already took a deep dive into the youngster in a previous installment of our Patriots scouting reports. Now it’s time to look at the veteran.
Hard facts
Name: Rhamondre Stevenson
Position: Running back
Jersey number: 38
Opening day age: 28 (2/23/1998)
Measurements: 5’11 1/2”, 227 lbs, 9” hand size, 30 1/4” arm length, 75” wingspan, 4.64s 40-yard dash, 7.09s 3-cone drill, 4.15s short shuttle, 31 1/2” vertical jump, 9’4” broad jump, 15 bench press reps, 3.89 Relative Athletic Score
Experience
NFL: New England Patriots (2021-) | College: Cerritos College (2017-18), Oklahoma (2019-20)
A productive career at Centennial High School in Las Vegas was not enough for Stevenson to be rated as a college recruit, forcing him to largely fly under the radar early in his career. Due to a lack of interest from any notable schools, he had to start off at the JUCO level. However, a dominant 2018 season at Cerritos College that saw him rush for 2,111 yards and score 16 touchdowns finally put him on the map.
Stevenson ended up choosing Oklahoma over multiple other Power 5 offers. He spent two seasons as a Sooner, playing in 19 games and carrying the ball 165 times for 1,180 yards and 13 TDs; he also added 28 catches for 298 yards. While his raw production did not stand out and he was suspended for six games due to a failed drug test, he displayed NFL-caliber talent throughout his time in Norman and was eventually selected 120th overall by the Patriots in the fourth round of the 2021 NFL Draft.
Stevenson’s career was off to a rocky start — he lost a fumble on his second career touch — but he nonetheless developed into a core member of the Patriots offense over his five seasons as a pro. In total, he has appeared in a combined 75 regular season and playoff games and as one of the most productive running backs in franchise history gained 5,367 scrimmage yards. He has 902 carries for 3,913 yards and 28 touchdowns on his résumé, as well as 202 receptions for 1,454 yards and five more scores.
His productivity also allowed him a nice payday. In June 2024, Stevenson signed a four-year, $36 million extension with the Patriots.
Scouting report
Strengths: At just under 6-foot-0 and 227 pounds, Stevenson is a well-built running back whose brand of football is a physical one. He plays with a sound pad level and combines it with good contact balance and effort; a player not easily brought down, he will keep his legs churning through contact and try to fall forward for extra yards. He additionally knows how to bounce off arm tackle attempts or shake defenders with his deceptive elusiveness and ability to switch to another gear.
A schematically-flexible back, Stevenson has good vision and a natural feel for exploiting holes in the defensive line. Once he sees an opening, he uses his burst, pad level and balance to his advantage to fit through and get to the second level. He also is patient enough to let his blocks develop in zone blocking concepts, and puts his foot in the ground with authority on cutback runs.
Stevenson also has been a reliable player in the receiving game. He turns his head quickly and displays solid hands on screen plays, as a hot read, and as a checkdown option. He also is one of the best pass protectors the running back position currently has to offer in the NFL; he reads the defense well and reacts quickly while using his leverage and play strength to wall off blitzers or chip linemen or outside linebackers before releasing into his routes. As a result, he has given up only eight pressures and no sacks over the last two seasons combined.
He furthermore has been praised for his leadership in the Patriots’ running back room, as well as his mental toughness. Despite facing some serious obstacles and personal challenges, he has managed to stay the course throughout his career.
Weaknesses: Even though he showed some promising progress in 2026, ball security as a whole has been an issue for Stevenson throughout his career. In 1,094 career touches, he has fumbled the ball 17 times at a rate of once every 64th touch. The reason behind those breakdowns are manifold and range from inconsistent technique, to insufficient grip strength, to mental errors and a desire to do too much, to a lack of team support. The hope is that his recent performance in that area is no fluke, but his track record is still concerning.
Stevenson also is not the most explosive player and lacks any truly defining athletic traits. His linear speed is adequate at best, preventing him from being a consistent home run threat, and he also is not the most nimble runner; he does break his fair share of tackles but does so mostly through the use of his contact balance and power rather than his elusiveness. That also does not run the most diverse route tree, and despite some strides in that area has been underutilized as a receiving option for much of his career.
2025 review
Stats: 18 games (17 starts) | 718 offensive snaps (52.9%), 5 special teams snaps (0.9%) | 188 carries, 820 yards (4.4/carry), 7 TDs, 3 FB (incl. 3 lost) | 52 targets, 44 catches (84.6%), 471 yards (10.7/catch), 3 TDs, 1 drop | 6 QB pressures surrendered (1 hit, 5 hurries) | 2 kickoff returns, 40 yards (20.0/return) | 1 penalty (incl. 1 declined/offsetting)
Season recap: Already coming off a rough 2024 season that saw him fumble the ball a league-worst seven times and take a statistical step back across the board, Stevenson was faced with an entirely different challenge entering 2025. In March, his father Robert unexpectedly passed away at the age of 54. An obvious tragedy on a personal level, the loss also altered Stevenson’s professional life: he spent large parts of the offseason with his family in Las Vegas rather than in Foxborough with the Patriots’ new coaching staff.
Throughout the ordeal, however, Stevenson was supported by head coach Mike Vrabel and running backs coach Tony Dews. Despite both only arriving earlier that offseason and having no prior experience working with him, they created an environment that showed respect for his situation and healing process.
It ultimately also set the stage for Stevenson enjoying a bounce-back season.
The biggest difference between 2025 and 2026 was ball security. Stevenson did put the ball on the ground three times in the first five games, losing all three off the fumbles, but those were his only shaky moments; over his final 13 games and 190 touches, he fumbled not once.
As far as his output is concerned, Stevenson also showed some improvement compared to his previous season. Even though he missed three games in November with a toe injury and New England’s run game as a whole was among the lesser efficient in the NFL, he saw his yards per carry (3.9 to 4.4), yards after contact (2.9 to 3.5), missed tackle rate (20.8% to 24.1%), yards per reception (5.1 to 10.7), and yards per touch (4.0 to 5.6) all go up. His expected points added per play (-0.05) might not reflect it, in large parts because running the ball is simply less effective than throwing it, but he had a quality year overall.
That was particularly true as a pass game contributor. While not the same volume producer he was when he led the Patriots in receptions in 2022, for example, he proved himself a valuable backfield outlet for quarterback Drake Maye as well as one of the top pass-protecting backs in the NFL.
Stevenson also took home some individual recognition. Following a Week 18 performance against an admittedly moribund Dolphins team, he was named AFC Offensive Player of the Week for registering 153 scrimmage yards and scoring a career-best three touchdowns. That game marked the statistical high point of his season, but it was far from his only strong outing of the year.
He managed all that in spite of some challenging circumstances. Beyond the passing of his father and that toe injury mentioned above, he also ran behind a reshaped offensive line featuring two rookie starters on the left side, played under a fourth offensive coordinator in the last four years (albeit one, Josh McDaniels, he knew from his rookie campaign), and faced four of the eight best run defenses in the NFL to close out his season in the playoffs. And even though rookie TreVeyon Henderson also showed some impressive flashes of big play ability, Stevenson’s status as New England’s RB1 was never in doubt.
Unlike the previous season, when his ball security cast a serious shadow of doubt over his future as the Patriots’ featured back, no such conversations developed down the stretch in 2025. And for good reason, too.
2026 preview
Position: All-purpose running back | Ability: Quality starter | Contract: Signed through 2028 (2029 UFA)
What will be his role? Stevenson is a starter-level running back capable of contributing on all three offensive downs. He is a proven between-the-tackles runner, comfortable operating in space, has reliable hands, and is a good pass protector — a combination that allows the Patriots to be flexible with his usage. While the team will also give sophomore TreVeyon Henderson his fair share of opportunities, Stevenson retains his role as the top dog in the room.
What is his growth potential? Entering his sixth season in the league, Stevenson is well-established as an NFL running back. That said, as his 2025 season showed, he still has the potential for positive development: he showed some strides in terms of ball security and had arguably the best season of his career as a pass catcher. Any major jumps should probably not be expected at this stage in his career, but he can further stake his claim as one of the top backs in the game.
Does he have positional versatility? While he is still not a volume option in the passing game, his 69-catch season in 2022 notwithstanding, Stevenson has shown his abilities as a receiver. From that perspective, versatility can be seen as a clear part of his game even though his alignment chart — he lined up outside the backfield on only 3.6% of snaps in 2026 — may not show it. He also ran back his first two career kickoffs last season.
What is his salary cap situation? Playing on his second contract, Stevenson is among the better-compensated running backs in the NFL: his $7.42 million cap hit is ranked 14th among his position group this year. The number itself consists of a $4.75 million base salary ($3.25M guaranteed), $1.6 million signing bonus proration (fully guaranteed), $823,529 in likely-to-be-earned roster bonuses (totaling $1M overall), and $250,000 workout bonus. He also can earn a team-high $3 million in incentives currently classified as not likely to be earned: $600,000 each for 1,400, 1,500 and 1,600 scrimmage yards, $600,000 for original-ballot Pro Bowl selection, and another $600,000 for either a first- or second-team All-Pro designation.
How safe is his roster spot? Stevenson is a highly-paid player at a position of diminished value, and at 28 years old already has plenty of tread on his tires. And yet, he is a lock to be on the Patriots’ roster this season. He was the team’s best back in 2025, after all, and enters 2026 as the only true you-know-what-you-will-get player at the position. In addition, the depth behind him and TreVeyon Henderson is one collective question mark right now.
Summary: Although he had his ups and downs in the past, Stevenson is one of the Patriots’ best players and as such once again guaranteed to see a high number of snaps in 2026. And with the passing game hopefully showing some strides, especially compared to a tough playoff slate, he might be able to get plenty of opportunities to further build on what already was a bounce-back campaign last year.
What do you think about Rhamondre Stevenson heading into the 2026 season? Will he keep his job as the Patriots’ No. 1 running back? Are his ball security wobbles truly behind him? Please head down to the comment section to share your thoughts.
