The Patriots made wide receiver Kyle Williams the 69th overall pick in last month's NFL Draft.
The Patriots made wide receiver Kyle Williams the 69th overall pick in last month's NFL Draft.John Tlumacki/Globe Staff
In New England, the weight of expectation can occasionally take a heavy toll on rookie wide receivers.
For the better part of two decades, the Patriots have struggled to find success drafting wideouts. They’ve had some hits ― Deion Branch, Julian Edelman, and Malcolm Mitchell. But the memories of the misses are cemented in the minds of critics. For myriad reasons, personnel missteps have defined the franchise’s strange inability to draft and develop the position.
Now, into the conversation steps Kyle Williams, a third-round pick out of Washington State who’s been celebrated by many former wide receivers, including the legendary Steve Smith, who calls Williams the second coming of No. 89.
“He’s my No. 2 or No. 3 wide receiver in this draft that I just actually love,” Smith said on his podcast prior to the draft. “He’s the newest version of [me] that’s out there.”
“The last time Steve Smith made that kind of comment, the guy he talked about has had a really good career,” former Washington State wide receivers coach Nick Edwards said. “Cooper Kupp.”
With Smith’s endorsement, it’s easy to look at the 22-year-old Williams as someone who could buck the trend in New England. The 5-foot-11-inch, 190-pounder is a former college quarterback with versatility, toughness, game speed, and an ability to create space between him and a defender, a skill that … well … separated him from the rest of this year’s draft class.
“He takes pride in his ability to separate,” Edwards said. “That comes in a lot of different factors. There’s speed and route detail in his craft, but he can flat out separate.”
During a recent rookie minicamp workout, Williams ― wearing No. 18 ― was impressive and showed just enough to make people wonder if he can be the one to change the trajectory.
Ultimately, while there’s still a long way to go to determine Williams’s bona fides as an NFL receiver, he has a pretty nifty blueprint to follow.
“I’ll put it this way,” said his father, Stephen Williams, alluding to Edelman and his ascent from college quarterback and late-round draft pick to Super Bowl hero. “If they loved No. 11, they’ll love No. 18.”
‘A sweet tooth for the end zone’
According to his father, Williams was first drawn to the game as a 7-year old fan of the Baltimore Ravens. Nicknamed “Budderball” by his family ― after an especially rambunctious pup in the “Air Buddies” movies ― he was all-in on football from the start.
But he was especially mindful of the way Smith, Marvin Harrison, and Stefon Diggs approached their craft.
“You want to know how to play the game and play it the right way, those were the guys,” said Stephen Williams. “Watching them and studying their stories. How they attacked the game, and how they approached the game, and everything that went along with all of that. He just picked it up as a young pup.
“He fell in love with Stefon Diggs. He really studied Diggs.”
As a collegian, Williams started as a quarterback at UNLV, but transferred to Washington State for the final two years. In two seasons with the Cougars, he had 131 catches for 2,041 yards and 20 touchdowns. That included an epic senior year in which Williams had 70 receptions for 1,198 yards and a whopping 14 touchdowns.
“It’s kind of contagious,” Williams said late last season when asked about his knack for touchdown catches. “It’s like you just get hungry for more.
“You get that piece of cake and it’s, ‘Let me get some more.’ I’m craving those sweets, so I have a sweet tooth for the end zone.”
“I knew early on that he had all the tools,” Edwards said. “The speed, good size for being an inside/outside guy. The biggest thing about Kyle was just his trust in the process and willingness to stick to a routine that made him the best wide receiver possible.”
Williams’s stock rose steadily as a senior, thanks in large part to his numbers and the occasional boost from people such as Smith. But he also impressed because of his willingness to play in the 2024 Holiday Bowl against Syracuse. The game meant little and he could have sat out, preserving his health as the draft approached. But Williams played, setting a Holiday Bowl record with 172 receiving yards.
“He’s just a competitor,” said former Washington State offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle. “He knew he had one more chance to play college football, and he’s one of those guys who appreciates what college athletics is.
“When his senior year started and the transfer portal opened, he could have gone anywhere and made as much money as he could have, but he didn’t do that. That speaks to his loyalty.
“Those were his teammates. He didn’t want to let them down. He knew that game was the end of the road for his college career. And he went out with a bang.”
“He’s loyal and humble,” said Stephen Williams. “He always plays for the name on the front of the jersey as well as the name on the back.”
Patriots third-round pick Kyle Williams with his mother, Erin, and father, Stephen, on senior day at Washington State.
Patriots third-round pick Kyle Williams with his mother, Erin, and father, Stephen, on senior day at Washington State.Courtesy of the Williams family
‘I would bet anything on Kyle Williams’
The Patriots made Williams the 69th overall pick in last month’s draft.
“He’s fast,” said executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf. “He can play outside and inside, [and is] really good with the ball in his hands. For an undersized guy, he’s really tough. He doesn’t shy away from anything. He can block.
“We had the opportunity to visit with him and he really has a great personality. We’re excited about what he’s going to add from that perspective.”
Williams has had rookie minicamp and is now with the other first-year players going through offseason workouts. The thing he’s looking forward to the most? Connecting with Diggs.
“Diggs was just somebody that I always watched as a kid, and multiple other receivers,” he said. “So being able to learn from their tools and add it to my bag is just something I do on a daily basis.
“I’m still waiting for him to get here,” Williams said with a smile earlier this month. “Once that happens, my childhood is basically complete.”
The question remains: Can Williams be the one to start a new narrative? When we trace the start of the Mike Vrabel era, will Williams be remembered as the one who helped change the wide receiver conversation in New England?
“I would bet anything on Kyle Williams,” Arbuckle said. “Tell him the odds are stacked against him, and he’ll find a way to get it done.”
Christopher Price can be reached at christopher.price@globe.com. Follow him @cpriceglobe.