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Former Eastern Washington receiver Efton Chism III has turned heads since signing as an undrafted free agent with the New England Patriots. (Tribune News Service)<\/p>\n
It\u2019s almost a little too on the nose that the New England Patriots player stealing headlines and turning heads in the offseason is an unheralded, undersized slot receiver from a small school.<\/p>\n
But it\u2019s not hyperbole to say that no player did more to improve his standing on the depth chart than Efton Chism III.<\/p>\n
Patriots coach Mike Vrabel praised the 23-year-old as \u201ca talented player\u201d who is dedicated and \u201cstudied extremely hard.\u201d The head coach noted that it doesn\u2019t take long to figure out which receivers quarterbacks trust \u2013 \u201cit\u2019s the ones they target,\u201d he said. That clearly means Drake Maye already trusts Chism, given their work together this spring and the 50 catches Maye estimated Chism made.<\/p>\n
So as the hype train rolls on for the 5-foot-10 receiver, let\u2019s look at how Chism got here, what the future might hold and whether this might just be fool\u2019s gold in spring sessions that favor receivers.<\/p>\n
History<\/strong>Chism didn\u2019t start playing football until eighth grade. Before that, he focused on baseball and basketball. But he quickly took to football. He and his family watched Eastern Washington games, which meant he was frequently watching Cooper Kupp as a kid. His level of comfort with the program is part of the reason he chose to attend college there.<\/p>\n Chism broke out as a sophomore, totaling 735 receiving yards and nine touchdowns in 13 games, while kicking off a streak of 53 consecutive games with at least one catch, a mark that broke Kupp\u2019s FCS record.<\/p>\n He\u2019s a slick route runner who easily got open against defenders and led all of the FCS in catches last season with 120 in 12 games.<\/p>\n Chism\u2019s chances of getting drafted were dampened when he ran a 4.71-second 40-yard dash, but he posted elite numbers in the short shuttle and three-cone drill, which speak to his shiftiness. After going undrafted, he had a number of suitors and signed with the Patriots on a deal that guaranteed him $234,000, a massive haul for an undrafted player.<\/p>\n Offseason recap<\/strong>From the first practice, it was evident Chism was different. Typically, coaches are slow to elevate rookies. But by the time OTAs were halfway complete, Chism was already getting reps with Maye after starting with the third-team offense.<\/p>\n He seems like a perfect fit for Josh McDaniels\u2019 scheme, which has always used shifty slot receivers. McDaniels\u2019 offense seems to make up for Chism\u2019s lack of top-end speed by having him find soft spots in the coverage and running a bunch of underneath crossing routes.<\/p>\n Now, it\u2019s worth noting that Vrabel wanted cornerbacks to pull up and not go for 50-50 balls during spring practices, but those practices still couldn\u2019t have gone much better for Chism.<\/p>\n X-factor<\/strong>Even if Chism continues to play well in training camp, he has a long way to go to overtake DeMario Douglas on the depth chart. Douglas is the same kind of player as Chism but has more of a track record (he had 621 yards last season) and a lot more speed (he ran a 4.44-second 40).<\/p>\n Given the nature of slot receivers, it\u2019s unlikely both Douglas and Chism would be on the field at the same time. So even if Chism looks more likely than not to make the team at this point, he\u2019s still likely to be stuck behind Douglas on the depth chart.<\/p>\n Reasons for optimism<\/strong>Head coaches typically don\u2019t hand out the kind of praise in the spring that Vrabel did for Chism. Same for quarterbacks. That\u2019s a sign that Chism is more than just a spring darling who will get overwhelmed when the pads come on. If anything, it might be more impressive that Chism was so quickly making an impact in a McDaniels offense that has historically been difficult for rookie receivers to learn.<\/p>\n Another reason for optimism is the lack of other options on the depth chart. We\u2019re still a long way from cutdown day, but in this rebuild, it seems like Chism brings more long-term potential than a veteran like Kendrick Bourne \u2013 who starred at EWU alongside Kupp nearly a decade ago.<\/p>\n Rookie receivers almost always struggle in the first few practices, but Chism\u2019s route running was so precise that he was quickly getting open. That could be an especially important trait if the Patriots\u2019 offensive line struggles and Maye has to quickly get the ball out.<\/p>\n Reasons for concern<\/strong>As Vrabel stressed several times, OTAs and minicamp are really just a passing clinic. In that environment, shifty slot receivers stand out.<\/p>\n So with Chism, there are two legit concerns. The first is his speed. While he\u2019s great in short areas, you\u2019d still like to have slot receivers with some speed \u2013 and Douglas is significantly faster. Julian Edelman ran a 4.52-second 40, which is much faster than Chism. (Edelman also tested much better than Chism in explosive drills like the broad jump and vertical jump.)<\/p>\n The other area of concern is Chism\u2019s durability. He stayed healthy in college, but the physical nature in the NFL is a far cry from what he experienced at the FCS level. One of the ugly truths for undrafted guys is you have to stay healthy in training camp to have a chance, so that\u2019ll factor into Chism\u2019s odds of making the roster, too.<\/p>\n What to watch in camp<\/strong>In short, can Chism keep this up? If the 53-man roster were based solely on spring practices, Chism would be on the team. But things ramp up in a big way when the pads come on. Can he provide anything as a run blocker? Can he stay healthy? Does his lack of straight-end speed hurt him?<\/p>\n Those are all fair questions and reasons to not just pencil Chism onto the roster. Besides, those spring sessions are tailor-made for a player like Chism. But at the same time, you couldn\u2019t have asked for much more than he provided this spring.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Former Eastern Washington receiver Efton Chism III has turned heads since signing as an undrafted free agent with the New England Patriots. (Tribune News Service) It\u2019s almost… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":26095,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26094","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-new-england-patriots"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"Efton](\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/athletic\/uploads\/wp\/2025\/06\/13094428\/USATSI_26411831-scaled.jpg\")
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