Kyle Williams is making the kind of preseason push that gets a coach’s attention in a hurry.
The New England Patriots wide receiver has spent parts of training camp working as the team’s seventh receiver, and his summer didn’t begin with much momentum. But over the last two weeks, the second-year speedster has turned himself into a real factor, finding the end zone in back-to-back preseason games and making his case with the one thing that has always jumped off the field: pure speed.
Against the Philadelphia Eagles on Saturday night, Williams hauled in a 69-yard touchdown down the right sideline that gave the Patriots a 10-7 lead in what became a 24-21 comeback win. It was his second score of the preseason, following a touchdown against the Indianapolis Colts, and it came at a time when the roster picture at receiver is still being sorted out.
“There’s competition for those final wide receiver spots on the roster, and Williams has started to look uncuttable,” the source material noted, and his own words reflected the atmosphere around the room.
“I have always been confident in my game - just being consistent, honestly,” Williams told reporters postgame. “That’s all it is - being consistent.
We have a great group of guys. It’s always competition.
It’s competitive, but it’s friendly competition. Nobody gets mad at anybody.
It’s iron sharpening iron at the end of the day.
“So, I’m really glad to have these great group of guys - great vets from top down. So, it’s just a fun room to be in.”
The touchdown came with 4:03 left in the first half, after the Patriots had spent much of the opening half struggling to get the ball deep into Philadelphia territory. New England trailed Tanner McKee and the Eagles 7-3 at the time, and then the offense flipped the field in a hurry.
After a JaMycal Hasty run and an Efton Chism III catch, the Patriots took a shot.
“Yeah, we got the look that we wanted,” Williams said. “Press coverage - something that I really enjoy to see.
Tommy (DeVito) took a chance on me. What a great throw, honestly.
We have been on point this whole camp, so it was good just to see it connect and strike the band.”
DeVito said the play was designed to isolate Williams.
“The coverage that they played put an isolation on Kyle, so hold the safety, let him roll, had great protection,” the quarterback DeVito said. “Threw it out there, hit him, and let him do the rest.”
That’s exactly what happened. DeVito launched the deep ball, Williams got past Eagles cornerback Ambry Thomas, and the receiver sprinted into the south end zone without much resistance.
For Williams, that kind of play is part of his calling card.
“It’s something that I’m good at, I would say. I wouldn’t say it’s my biggest asset - but, it’s something I’m good at,” Williams said about getting behind the defense.
“Honestly, all 11 players have got to be on the same page,” Williams said. “I just did my 1/11th, and everybody else did theirs, and that is how those big plays come to fruition.”
Williams, a Washington State rookie last year, didn’t put up huge numbers in his first season. He caught just 10 passes, though three of them went for touchdowns, and he was not much of a factor when straight-line speed wasn’t the deciding element.
Still, the Patriots have seen more from him in these preseason games, and the speed remains a weapon they can use.
“Yeah, he’s a baller. He’s got a great release package, and he’s going to take the top off and go score,” Chism said.
“But he’s been doing great things throughout the week, working on - not just the go balls - and getting better as a player. So, it’s been awesome to grow with him and to lean on each other.”
There are still clear areas for Williams to sharpen. At 5-foot-11, he is not the biggest target in the room, and contested catches have been an issue. He’s strong at the line of scrimmage, but he still needs to keep improving when the route is finishing and the ball is in the air.
The Patriots will have to make their roster cuts on Aug. 30, but Williams’ recent stretch has made his case hard to ignore.
“I just want to give Kyle as many opportunities to continue to improve and do the things that we have asked him to improve on, and he knows he needs to improve on,” head coach Mike Vrabel said. “And I love his ability outside the numbers to be able to stretch the field. And we wanted to give him some more opportunities to be able to do that as well as work on some of the stuff that Todd (Downing) and Josh (McDaniels) have him trying to improve on.”
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