So far through one week of New England Patriots OTAs, one undrafted free agent has already made it clear he’ll be making noise heading into training camp.
Eastern Washington receiver Efton Chism reportedly turned some heads early on here in New England, with the shifty wideout showing off some speed and quickness during the media portions of OTAs this past week.
Boston Globe Patriots beat writer Christopher Price said Chism was impressive during the media portion of practice, and he feels he could potentially be among the favorites when it comes to UDFAs who might land a roster spot this summer.
“He looks competitive. He didn’t look overwhelmed at all when we saw him out there on Tuesday,” said Price during an appearance on our podcast Patriots No-Huddle earlier this week. “He looked very natural, he looked very composed. He was running with the twos and threes, but at the same time, that’s where you want to start. And I would submit to you, that if he continues on this path, he is either going to make the team or be the victim of the Foxboro flu and go on injured reserve all year.”
“So Efton Chism, right now, is my betting favorite as the UDFA of choice.”
What’s interesting about Chism is that he’s been a pretty motivated guy going back to his college days. Having seen former Eagles Cooper Kupp and Kendrick Bourne both establish themselves as great players at the school while also making it to the NFL, Chism’s goal was to follow in their footsteps while also setting himself apart.
He ended up doing just that. He broke the school record for receptions in a season with 120, and he is now second all-time in receptions with 346. Kupp holds the record with 428.
“Hopefully, people will remember me as one of the greats, and I’ve been chasing that since I got here,” Chism said in an interview with the school last October. “I want to go down in the same conversation as Cooper Kupp, Kendrick Bourne, and all those great receivers. I have the opportunity to, and hopefully I can keep playing the way I’m playing. You go out to Roos Field and see Coop’s records all over the place. People compare me to him, but I just want to be in the same conversation, not known as just another receiver.”
Kupp went on to become a third-round pick for the Rams in 2017, while both Chism and Bourne came into the league as undrafted free agents. Bourne managed to fight his way onto a roster in San Francisco in 2017, and it led to the opportunity he received here in New England when the club signed him to a three-year contract worth $15 million back in 2021.
Now Chism is trying to do the same, and he’s no stranger to hard work. Chism said that the path to his success in college came from setting goals for himself, as well as creating a plan toward the success he hoped it would ultimately lead to.
“I’d say it was a lot of hard work, but also a lot of goal setting,” he said back in October. “You have to realize what you want to do, how you’re going to do it, have a plan, and how you’re going to follow that plan. You can’t achieve any goals without a plan of what you want to achieve.”
He was certainly productive, and he finished his senior year in impressive fashion. In addition to his impressive career numbers, he had six games with over 100 yards in his final season, including one game against UC Davis where he hauled in 15 receptions for 170 yards and a touchdown.
He’s also a smart player. One interesting note he shared with The Spokesman back in September was that as soon as he lines up, he starts studying the defensive back and puts a plan of attack together ahead of the snap. A lot of that stems from work he did in the film room, where he’d lock in on defensive backs who might be covering him ahead of each game.
“I’ve got to have a plan before the ball is snapped, based on leverage, what I think the coverage is, what route I am running,” Chism told the newspaper via Dan Thompson. “But as soon as the ball is snapped, it’s all reactionary. I know what I want to do, and if I can do it, I’m going to do that.”
One other good thing about him is the fact he’s also a well-rounded player. He’s not just a solid receiver – he’s also a terrific blocker, which will likely endear him even further to this Patriots coaching staff, especially knowing how important that part has been in Josh McDaniels’ offense.
But when the ball is thrown his way, he’s also someone who attacks the ball. Chism told Thompson he plays with the mentality of “You touch it, you buy it,” explaining that if he gets his hands on the football, he believes he has to come down with it.
So far, he’s been a player who has come into these spring sessions with the right approach. Now it’s just a matter of carving out a place on the roster.
Patriots Receivers: A Crowded Room
For a wide receiver room that’s already pretty crowded with a dozen receivers on the roster, it’s already set to be an interesting competition. The hope is that second-year wideout Ja’Lynn Polk will rebound from a disappointing rookie season, with fellow 2024 draft pick Javon Baker hopefully joining him.
Baker reportedly came down with a nice grab this week against Christian Gonzalez, which is good news for a player who didn’t get a ton of playing time and was 0-for-3 when Drake Maye targeted him last season.
With the signing of Stefon Diggs, along with incumbent Demario Douglas likely set to be a big part of their plans, that only leaves, at most, maybe 4-5 spots available. The question then becomes, who is going to ultimately step into the starting line-up behind them?
That’s where things get a little murky. Barring disaster, rookie wideout Kyle Williams will likely take one of those spots on the roster, which narrows the available openings even further. From there, Kayshon Boutte was their second-most productive wide receiver in 2024, hauling in 43 receptions for 589 yards and 3 touchdowns. But his future has been in question, seemingly going back to the draft.
Kendrick Bourne flashed at times in 2024, but he was inconsistent for most of last season, coming off an ACL injury he sustained in 2023. He previously had his best season under Josh McDaniels in 2021, but it feels like the bar has been raised, and it’s tough to say if he’ll make it out of training camp.
Free agent addition Mack Hollins is another player who should find himself on the roster. He’s been a guy who has received a fair amount of praise in the early going, further narrowing this group.
Depending on Diggs’ health entering the season, it’s possible the door might be open for someone to survive the initial rounds, but that’s not a guarantee. Diggs surprised everyone, and the team posted photos of him getting some work in this week, and he’s continued posting videos on social media where it appears he could indeed be out there to start the season.
For now, it feels like this summer is going to be competitive with this group, and it should be fun to see how things play out. In the meantime, given what he’s previously said, Chism likely already has a plan in place to make sure he’s among the last ones standing.
If this week is any indication, he’s already off to a great start.
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Ian Logue is a Seacoast native and owner and senior writer for PatsFans.com, an independent media site covering the New England Patriots and has been running this site in one form or another since 1997.
Diggs did practice and ran routes vs covering DBs. No knee brace on. Seemed full speed too. That is remarkable for May after a late Oct ACL surgery. I hate to speculate, but I’d wonder if he goes to the Rodney Harrison school of rehabilitation. Just doing the math there. Regards Chism, if the Pats are keeping the complex option route tree game that they ran in the Brady era, then all the more wind in Chism’s sail that he may indeed be a fit on the team. Reading the coverage and DB in conjunction with the QB, and doing… Read more »