Wide receiver Efton Chism looking to be latest undrafted rookie to crack Patriots lineup

Boston Globe

4 days ago

'It's awesome. I'm blessed,' he said after a recent training camp workout. 'I really think that being here is a huge opportunity. A huge blessing. I can't thank God enough. I'm just super happy to be here. Every day is a new opportunity, and every day is like I'm just [taking it] one step at a time.'
Whether working as a special teamer or an added option in the passing game, the 23-year-old is making a bid to crash the wide receiver depth chart. Chism, who had 346 receptions for 3,852 yards and 37 touchdowns in five college seasons, has been a steady and dependable presence throughout the spring and summer workouts.
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'Chis had about 50 catches, I feel like, in OTAs,' quarterback Drake Maye said in June of the 5-foot-10-inch, 195-pounder.
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'I think he's a talented player,' coach Mike Vrabel said of Chism. 'He's dedicated. He's studied extremely hard. He has a good feel for what we're asking him to do.
'I think the biggest thing for receivers is that there's trust from the guy that throws the football. When you earn the quarterback's trust — any one of them that we have, any one of the three — it doesn't take you long to figure out who the quarterback trusts. It's the ones they target. That's a good indicator.'
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'Just for me personally, it's just about anything I can do,' Chism said of his mind-set heading into Friday's preseason opener against the Commanders. 'That's being on punt, running down on punt, returning kicks. Anything. Whatever I can do to take advantage of an opportunity, regardless of what's going on. Even if I have to hold or whatever it is, I just want to do that and do it to the best of my ability.'
The coaching staff has been having wide receiver Efton Chism watch videos of former Patriot Danny Amendola.
Danielle Parhizkaran/Globe Staff
A longstanding tradition in Foxborough — regardless of the coaching staff — has been to show old film of past franchise greats and use those performances as a theoretical blueprint for attacking the game. When it comes to Chism, offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels has him watching a lot of old film on former Patriots wide receiver Danny Amendola.
'We got a cut-up, and it's all Amendola's catches,' Chism said of Amendola, who displayed the same sort of shiftiness that Chism has shown this summer. 'All the passes he's got even targets on, so I'm going through and watching that right now and trying to just kind of see how he ran through his offense with McDaniels when he was here and learn everything I can do that.'
He's also received a boost from the rest of the receiver room. He and Kendrick Bourne both went to Eastern Washington, and has fostered a relationship with veterans Mack Hollins and Stefon Diggs.
'[Kendrick Bourne] is a big one for me, just kind of coming from the same school. I look up to him a lot,' he said. 'Pop Douglas plays the same position; kind of getting to learn the tips and tricks of how he went about his first couple of years.
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'And me and Mack Hollins, we study every night, so learning the playbook through him and Diggs. I think everyone's got a huge impact on me, and it's just been a really cool situation to be in that room.
'I think [Diggs is] one of those guys that he wants the best for the team. He's not selfish. He's not one of those guys that's me, me, me. He's always like, 'Man, like what do you think about this?' He'll even look at us and be like, 'What do you think I could have done here?' '
It'll be a challenging path forward for Chism. The Patriots traditionally keep six wide receivers, and Diggs, Hollins, Douglas, and rookie Kyle Williams appear to be roster locks. That means he's is competing with Bourne, Kayshon Boutte, Ja'Lynn Polk, and Javon Baker for the final two spots. When it comes to making a statement, he's aware that opportunities like the preseason opener represent a terrific chance to make his case.
Regardless of what happens, it seems unlikely that he'll lose the relentlessly optimistic approach. After all, it's gotten him this far.
'It's been super awesome,' he said. 'It's been awesome just learning from the guys and being able to compete right away, because there's no learning curve. You're into it right away. It's been awesome.'
Christopher Price can be reached at