Patriots rookie play-maker admits he thought he was headed to the Bears during the 2025 NFL Draft and it nearly happened
TreVeyon Henderson in Chicago was so close to happening during the second-round of the 2025 Draft.
The 2025 NFL Draft was a frustrating process for the Chicago Bears after seemingly getting sniped out of all their top targets on the team’s draft board, but the results proved to work out just fine.
The Bears ended up having arguably the best draft class in the league when you consider all of the rookies that contributed for this team during the 2025-26 season such as tight end Colston Loveland, wide receiver Luther Burden III, offensive tackle Ozzy Trapilo, and running back Kyle Monangai.
The player the Bears attempted to make a big move for was running back TreVeyon Henderson, who was drafted one pick before the Bears in the second-round by the New England Patriots. After the draft, Dan Wiederer of the Chicago Tribune, reported that the Bears even attempted to trade up for Henderson to land a top playmaking running back for head coach Ben Johnson’s offense.
TreVeyon Henderson even thought he was going to Chicago when the Patriots called
“When I was getting the call, my TV was a little delayed and the Chicago Bears, I thought they were up,” Henderson explained during his Super Bowl media availability. “When I got the phone call, I thought that it was the Chicago Bears and they told me it was the New England Patriots.”
I’m just going to file that into the what-if folder. It’s no secret that the Bears were high on Henderson throughout the draft process and landing him would have completely changed the team’s running back room. Henderson plays with a similar explosive style that D’Andre Swift plays with, so Swift might not have even been on the team in 2025 if Henderson was drafted by the Bears.
Instead, the Bears waited until the seventh-round to pair Swift with Kyle Monangai and it was the perfect match. Swift went on to have a career season and the Bears became the only team in the league to have two backs with 750+ rushing yards each.
Henderson still had a strong season with the Patriots, totaling 911 rushing yards and nine rushing touchdowns and now gets the opportunity to play in the Super Bowl. But, he admits he wasn’t exactly thrilled when learning who was on the other end of the phone.
“I was smiling, but my heart sunk at the time,” Henderson added. “During the draft process, everyone was telling me, ‘Patriots is the last time, the last one that you want to go to.’ I’m believing whatever they said. I’m trying to dodge the Patriots at all costs. But, then I got picked by them, and it was such a crazy moment.”
It’s always fun hear these draft nuggets months later and envision what could have been. While the Bears were one pick away from landing their guy, it’s still safe to say everything worked out for all parties involved.
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