New England Patriots - NESN.com
The New England Patriots worked hard on revamping their wide receiver room this offseason, with Demario Douglas and Kayshon Boutte being the only holdovers from 2024 on the roster currently.
After signing Stefon Diggs and Mack Hollins in free agency and selecting Kyle Williams in the third round of the 2025 NFL Draft, the Pats already had the makings of a much better group than the one they had last season.
Making things even better for the Patriots is the fact that they may have unearthed a diamond in the rough in undrafted rookie Efton Chism III. Chism earned the sixth and final wide receiver spot on New England’s roster after putting together a strong body of work during training camp and preseason play.
Chism has a lot of fans inside the building at 1 Patriot Place in the early going, with Douglas being one of his top supporters. According to Douglas, he appreciates his relationship with Chism because they both are intent on pushing each other to get better.
“Chis, that’s my boy,” Douglas said on “Dudes On Dudes.” “He cold … He pushes me … I see him work, I’m working. He sees me work, I know he’s working. It’s like, the better I am, the better he gonna be. The better he is, the better I’m gonna be.”
Douglas was the Patriots’ top wide receiver in 2024, catching 66 passes for 621 yards and three touchdowns. With Diggs and Hollins alongside him now, he should have more room to work with this upcoming season.
Chism likely won’t earn many snaps to start the season, but you can bet he and Douglas and going to keep on grinding behind the scenes in an effort to improve their respective games. That way, if Chism’s number gets called, he will be in position to go out and immediately produce for New England.
