Pats Pulpit
Back in July, New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel listed three goals for his football team entering training camp. No. 2 on that list: earn a role.
Fast forward three weeks later, and perhaps nobody has done that more than undrafted rookie receiver Efton Chism III.
“Doesn’t matter how you get here. Only thing that matters is what you do when you’re here,” Vrabel said Saturday after New England’s preseason win. “And I think that’s another great example of that. And Chis when given opportunities has taken advantage of them. And we talked about his play strength last week and I would say that that continued to be true this week.”
Chism played just one quarter in New England’s preseason win over the Minnesota Vikings. But, the undrafted rookie receiver needed just one drive to make his mark.
After hauling in back-to-back receptions for 11 and 33 yards — the first picking up a fresh set of downs on third-down — Chism moved the chains yet again on third-and-five by working through multiple defenders to fight for the line to gain.
The work also caught the eye of Patriots Executive Vice President of Player Personnel Eliot Wolf.
“From Day 1, it’s just been consistency. He’s really been a hard worker,” Wolf told WBZ at halftime. “He’s put in the time. He’s in there every day with wide receiver Todd Downing at like 5 o’clock in the morning. The fruits of his labor are paying off here. On that drive, he had three third-down conversions. The sure willpower of breaking tackles and got into the end zone there. We’re excited about him.”
“He really knows how to set up the defender at the top of the route and work leverage. He’s a lot stronger than I think people give him credit for. I think the Vikings are finding that out here.”
The Vikings truly found out to end the drive, as Chism hauled in another third-down reception before shedding off a handful of defenders to find the end zone. It was the receiver’s second touchdown in as many weeks to begin the preseason.
“Josh [McDaniels] altered something vs. our coverage to give me an opportunity. I just always kind of pride myself on not letting one guy tackle me and try to get in there and go score,” Chism said post-game. “There’s always more to give out there no matter what’s going on.. If I could make one guy miss and keep giving even more effort, more finish, more whatever it is, it kind of just carries on.”
Chism went on to lead all of New England’s pass catchers yet again with six catches on six targets for 71 yards and a touchdown. He did not play a snap the entire second half as his spot on the depth seems solidified.
“He just keeps on showing up,” Drake Maye said. “I think that’s the theme for him throughout camp, throughout joint practices, throughout preseason games. He got into the end...
