Efton Chism was the darling of the Patriots' spring. Now, can he make the team?

New York Times

5 hours ago

Editor's note: This is the first story in a 10-part series looking at the most intriguing New England Patriots players ahead of training camp.
It's almost a little too on the nose that the Patriots player stealing headlines and turning heads in spring practices is an unheralded, undersized slot receiver from a small school.
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But it's not hyperbole to say that no player did more to improve his standing on the depth chart than Efton Chism. To put it another way, when we came up with the idea for this series in which we'd zoom in on 10 important players ahead of training camp, Chism wasn't even in consideration. Now he's kicking it off.
Mike Vrabel praised the 23-year-old as 'a talented player' who is dedicated and 'studied extremely hard.' The head coach noted that it doesn't take long to figure out which receivers quarterbacks trust — 'it's the ones they target,' he said. That clearly means Drake Maye already trusts Chism, given their work together this spring and the 50 catches Maye estimated Chism made.
So as the hype train rolls on for the 5-foot-10 receiver, let's look at how Chism got here, what the future might hold and whether this might just be fool's gold in spring sessions that favor receivers.
Chism didn't start playing football until eighth grade. Before that, he focused on baseball and basketball. But he quickly took to football. He and his family watched Eastern Washington games, which meant he was frequently watching Cooper Kupp as a kid. His level of comfort with the program is part of the reason he chose to attend college there.
Chism broke out as a sophomore, notching 735 receiving yards and nine touchdowns in 13 games, while kicking off a streak of 53 straight games with at least one catch, a mark that broke Kupp's FCS record.
He's a slick route runner who easily got open against defenders and led all of the FCS in catches last season with 120 in 12 games.
Chism's chances of getting drafted were dampened when he ran a 4.71-second 40-yard dash, but he posted elite numbers in the short shuttle and three-cone drill, which speak to his shiftiness. After going undrafted, he had a number of suitors and signed with the Patriots on a deal that guaranteed him $234,000, a massive haul for an undrafted player.
A week away from the draft and even in a deeper WR class, really excited to see where @EWUFootball WR Efton Chism lands.
Elite short shuttle (4.06) and three cone (6.77) make up for perceived lack of top-end speed.
Here's him as compared to Trent Taylor (5th round pick), Jeremy… pic.twitter.com/rWkeuVpKii
— Eric Galko (@EricGalko) April 18, 2025
From the first practice, it was evident Chism was different. Typically, coaches are slow to elevate rookies. But by the time OTAs were halfway complete, Chism was already getting reps with Maye after starting with the third-team offense.
He seems like a perfect fit for Josh McDaniels' scheme, which has always utilized shifty slot receivers. McDaniels' offense seems to make up for Chism's lack of top-end speed by having him find soft spots in the coverage and running a bunch of underneath crossing routes.
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Now, it's worth noting that Vrabel wanted cornerbacks to pull up and not go for 50-50 balls during spring practices, but those practices still couldn't have gone much better for Chism.
Even if Chism continues to play well in training camp, he has a long way to go to overtake DeMario Douglas on the depth chart. Douglas is the same kind of player as Chism but has more of a track record (he had 621 yards last season) and a lot more speed (he ran a 4.44-second 40).
Given the nature of slot receivers, it's unlikely both Douglas and Chism would ever be on the field at the same time. So even if Chism looks more likely than not to make the team at this point, he's still likely to be stuck behind Douglas on the depth chart.
Head coaches typically don't hand out the kind of praise in the spring that Vrabel did for Chism. Same for quarterbacks. That's a sign that Chism is more than just a spring darling who will get overwhelmed when the pads come on. If anything, it might be more impressive that Chism was so quickly making an impact in a McDaniels offense that has historically been difficult for rookie receivers to learn.
Another reason for optimism is the lack of other options on the depth chart. We're still a long way from cutdown day, but in this rebuild, it seems like Chism brings more long-term potential than a veteran like Kendrick Bourne.
Rookie receivers almost always struggle in the first few practices, but Chism's route running was so precise that he was quickly getting open. That could be an especially important trait if the Patriots offensive line struggles and Maye has to quickly get the ball out.
As Vrabel stressed several times, OTAs and minicamp are really just a passing clinic. In that environment, shifty slot receivers should stand out.
So with Chism, there are two legit concerns. The first is his speed. While he's great in short areas, you'd still like to have slot receivers with some speed — and Douglas is significantly faster. Julian Edelman ran a 4.52-second 40, which is meaningfully faster than Chism. (Edelman also tested much better than Chism in explosive drills like the broad jump and vertical jump.)
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The other area of concern is Chism's durability. He stayed healthy in college, but the physicality in the NFL is a far cry from what he experienced at the FCS level. One of the ugly truths for undrafted guys is you have to stay healthy in training camp to have a chance, so that'll factor into Chism's odds of making the roster, too.
In short, can Chism keep this up? If the 53-man roster were based solely on spring practices, Chism would be on the team. But things ramp up in a big way when the pads come on. Can he provide anything as a run blocker? Can he stay healthy? Does his lack of straight-end speed hurt him?
Those are all fair questions and reasons to not just pencil Chism onto the roster. Besides, those spring sessions are tailor-made for a player like him. But at the same time, you couldn't have asked for much more than he provided this spring.