The New England Patriots’ wide receiver room is currently in flux ahead of play against the New York Jets in Week 17 of the ongoing NFL season.
Wide receivers Kayshon Boutte and Mack Hollins have been ruled out of the Dec. 28 afternoon matchup at MetLife Stadium. In addition, fellow WR DeMario Douglas is listed as questionable and Hollins has since been placed on injured reserve due to his abdominal injury. While defensive tackle Jeremiah Pharms Jr. has been signed to the 53-man roster as a result, this means that the remaining healthy wide receivers currently listed on the Patriots’ active roster are Kyle Williams, Efton Chism III and leading man Stefon Diggs.
Turning to Diggs will undoubtedly be a part of New England head coach Mike Vrabel’s game plan. However, so should Williams and Chism, given the current state of the WR room.
Williams is a rookie who was drafted by the Patriots in the third round (No. 69 overall) of the 2025 NFL Draft. Chism had a stellar preseason for the Pats and was originally signed by the franchise undrafted following the conclusion of his time at Eastern Washington.
Young Patriots’ Wide Receivers Will Need To Show up Big Against Struggling Jets
Allowing the young wide receivers to run some routes and accumulate some catches could not have come at a better time for Vrabel to work into his offensive schemes. The Jets have not had the best of years, with the New York team currently riding a 3-12 record overall — with six of these losses having taken place on home turf at East Rutherford. Additionally, the Jets are 29th in the league in terms of pass Expected Points Added (EPA) allowed.
Vrabel himself has even confirmed himself that he’ll be turning to his budding WRs, saying at the Dec. 26 press conference that Chism will be receiving some well-deserved opportunities.
“He’s always prepared,” Vrabel said of Chism at the same presser. “There’s hard workers on this team and I would say none probably work harder than Efton. I’m not going to say that he’s the hardest worker, but you’d be hard-pressed to find players that work harder than him. To be prepared, to be ready, to take advantage of his opportunity, which it looks like in all accounts — he’ll get opportunities [against the Jets].”
Patriots HC Mike Vrabel on rookie WR Efton Chism: "It looks by all acounts that he'll get opportunities."
— Doug Kyed (@DougKyed) December 26, 2025
As previously referenced, Chism has quickly become known as “the Chizzler” by fans after the slot receiver caught for 121 yards across 12 receptions, also scoring two touchdowns in the preseason.
As an Eastern Washington Eagle, he was placed on the AP All-American First Team and All-Big Sky First Team and concluded his time with 3,852 receiving yards and 37 career touchdowns.
In an exclusive to New England Patriots On SI, Chism formerly emphasized the importance of needing to take advantage of every opportunity he is provided.
“You definitely have to remind yourself that it’s a day-to-day, week-to-week process. It’s not high school or college where you kind of just roll it out and be the best athlete,” Efton Chism III said. “You’ve got to find all these little details and find something that separates yourself from other people to get you on the field and to then take advantage of those opportunities. Hopefully, more opportunities come and continue just to get better each and every day.”
Across the 2025 season, Williams has logged seven receptions for 189 yards and three touchdowns. While Chism is still seeking his first catch, he has logged 16 kickoff returns for 383 yards across six regular-season games.
It appears that for Chism and fellow youngster Williams, what they do with those earned opportunities will be on full display against the Jets. For them, a strong showing is more important now than ever to prove the future of the Patriots’ roster is high as they ride a potential path to a No. 1 seed in the postseason.
