Patriots Second-Round Pick Named Top 10 Rookie

The New England Patriots made a statement with their fourth-overall pick in this year's draft: prioritize the trenches, and protect rising quarterback Drake Maye.

And with the selection of LSU's Will Campbell, the Patriots added a future staple on their offensive line for years to come, being a major asset for this New England offense and filling a major hole on that end by reinforcing this team's protection upfront.

However, while Campbell is bound to play a huge part in the Patriots' success moving forward, and could soon emerge as the best offensive tackle to come out of this class, New England may have another rookie in the mix preparing for an even more impactful rookie season than the team's number four pick.

In the eyes of CBS Sports' Chris Trapasso, the Patriots' most notable instant impact rookie could be none other than Ohio State running back and second-round pick TreVeyon Henderson, who may have a major role in this offensive scheme from the jump.

"Henderson is a plus pass protector and time and time again demonstrated explosive tendencies in space in college," Trapasso wrote. "Those are two ingredients to getting on the field early as a running back. Getting selected early in Round 2 is also quite helpful to September opportunities at any position... Henderson is one explosive cat. And enters a Patriots running back room with Rhamondre Stevenson, who probably has somewhat of a tenuous grasp on the No. 1 gig in the backfield. "

The Patriots' backfield already has a few names of note who will inevitably take some of Henderson's aspired carries like Rhamondre Stevenson and Antonio Gibson, but as a day two pick with versatility to be a runner, receiving threat, and a blocker, there will be an early role to be found for the Ohio State product in due time.

For this Patriots offense desperately coveting playmakers, Henderson's addition could be a catalyst to getting this unit to lift from the depths as one of the worst in the NFL across the past two seasons, and for Mike Vrabel, the goal may be to get his rookie runner going early to faciliate the best chances of that happening.

If Henderson bursts onto the scene during camp and preseason as a name in the backfield that simply can't be left off the field, the Patriots' rookie could be in play for a massively impressive first year in Foxborough.