FOXBOROUGH – Drake Maye was asked a question about recent draft picks TreVeyon Henderson and Kyle Williams.
As he was talking about the second-and-third-round picks, Maye couldn’t help but speak about another impressive rookie on offense.
“Chism has had about 50 catches, I feel like, in OTAs,” Maye said. “Those guys are coming to work and showing up.”
The fact that Maye spoke about undrafted rookie receiver Efton Chism III while talking about higher draft picks spoke volumes.
This spring, Chism emerged as the top undrafted player on the Patriots roster. After five open practices, this receiver from Eastern Washington led all Patriots pass catchers with 15 receptions. That performance earned praise from Maye and coach Mike Vrabel.
Chism said his mindset has helped him adapt to the NFL.
“I just think coming with the mindset of ‘Nothing’s guaranteed. Nobody owes me anything,’” Chism said. “I’m trying to take advantage of every opportunity I get. If that’s a scout team rep or if that’s a special teams rep – whatever it is. And building the QB’s trust where they want to throw me the ball.”
A slot receiver, Chism comes to the Patriots after a record-setting career at Eastern Washington. There, he followed in the footsteps of Cooper Kupp. Chism broke several of Kupp’s school records, including most receptions in a season (120) and most consecutive games with a catch (53).
Chism caught 346 total passes at Eastern Washington over the last five years. Last season, he finished with 120 receptions, 1,311 yards, and 13 touchdowns. That performance led him to become a highly coveted undrafted free agent.
Following the conclusion of the 2025 NFL Draft, according to ESPN, the Patriots had to outbid the Denver Broncos for Chism’s services. The team made the receiver their highest-paid undrafted player with $234,000 in guaranteed base salary.
In OTAs and minicamp, Chism was the only player to catch passes from all three Patriots quarterbacks – Maye, Joshua Dobbs, and Ben Wooldridge. His performance impressed Vrabel.
“I think he’s a talented player. I think he has a certain skill set. He’s dedicated. He’s studied extremely hard,” Vrabel said. “He has a good feel for what we’re asking him to do. I think the biggest thing for receivers is that there’s trust from the guy that throws the football. When you earn the quarterback’s trust – any one of them that we have, any one of the three – it doesn’t take you long to figure out who the quarterback trusts. It’s the ones they target. That’s a good indicator.”
Before entering the NFL, Chism said he studied Kupp and Pro Bowl receiver Doug Baldwin. Since coming to New England, he’s also been studying and getting close to DeMario Douglas.
Chism’s performance has been eye-opening since it marks his first in Josh McDaniels’ offensive system. Historically, McDaniels’ offense is hard to learn for newcomers – especially receivers.
Chism, however, has proven to be a quick study. He’s been able to do that because he stays up late, gets up early, studies flashcards, and even walkthrough plays on his own. Chism said his goal was to get an “extra step” by the time he practiced.
“It’s been awesome to get the opportunity to learn an NFL offense especially because his offense is a special and unique thing,” Chism said. “When you think of coach McDaniels, you think of a highly respected OC. Trying to do everything I can to learn it the best I can to adapt to it and go out there and play at 100%.”
