Nothing hits for an NFL fan base in the month of June quite like an undrafted rookie wide receiver showing out at OTAs, and the New England Patriots might have found one of the most interesting of them all.
The Patriots needed an infusion of talent at the wide receiver position this offseason to help young quarterback Drake Maye in what will be a pivotal year for his development. They have obviously turned over a number of stones to try and find that help for Maye already by bringing in veterans Stefon Diggs and Mack Hollins while also drafting Kyle Williams in the third round.
But as much money as you spend and as much draft capital as you invest, sometimes the unheralded, undrafted, overlooked, and out-of-nowhere guys are just inevitable.
The Patriots may have found a gem in Eastern Washington star Efton Chism, who was even receiving rave reviews from Drake Maye himself.
Efton Chism draws great reviews coming out of Patriots OTAs
Efton Chism getting in and out of his breaks early in practice. pic.twitter.com/GJAjZyYIKm
— Phil Perry (@PhilAPerry) June 9, 2025
Drake Maye joked that Chism caught about 50 passes at OTAs and it seemed that the entire Patriots beat was hemming and hawing over the camp the rookie has had so far. Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel added even more fuel to the fire with his comments about Chism:
“He’s a talented player… He’s dedicated… The biggest thing for receivers is that there’s trust from the guy that throws the football… Doesn’t take you long to figure who the quarterback trusts, it’s the ones they target.”
- Patriots HC Mike Vrabel
There are all sorts of reasons why guys get overlooked by the NFL, and most of them are far too common reasons why good football players get either under-drafted or not drafted at all. With Chism, one of the main gripes was the fact that as a smaller guy with shorter arms, nearly 40 percent of his catches last year at Eastern Washington were behind the line of scrimmage.
Understandably, Eastern Washington was trying to get the ball in their best playmaker's hands as quickly as possible. That doesn't diminish his skill set and other intangible qualities he brings to the table. You can't teach competitive fire, and when you get a guy like that who is quickly building trust with a young quarterback?
Well, that's when you have fun offseason stories turn into actual production and core players on your roster.