Back in April, I pinned Efton Chism III as my deepest true sleeper at wide receiver in this 2025 NFL Draft class — with the expectation that he’d go un-drafted. Despite that, he has made a name for himself in camp this summer.
Six teams paid Chism a visit during the draft process, one of those being Sean Payton’s Denver Broncos, who found themselves in a bidding war with New England. The Eastern Washington product decided to sign with the Patriots, who have a long history of developing undrafted free agents and late-round draft picks. New England once put up a run of 19 consecutive years with a UDFA making their 53-man roster. It is certainly intriguing that Chism was given more in guarantees than the franchise’s 7th-round picks (per Mike Reiss).
The Patriots have a past of utilizing undersized and undervalued slot receivers like Wes Welker and Julian Edelman. Welker was a UDFA and Edelman was merely a 7th-round pick. Not to mention another slot receiver, Jakobi Meyers, who also went undrafted and signed with New England — eventually becoming their top wideout after Tom Brady left for Tampa Bay.
After tearing up the first two weeks of the NFL preseason, Chism hopes to be that next great slot receiver for an up-and-coming roster led by my personal favorite quarterback over the last few draft classes, Drake Maye.
Through just two preseason games, Chism was able to rack up 12 catches on 14 targets (85 percent catch rate) for 121 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns with an efficient 3.18 yards per route run. In addition to having four contested targets and catching all of them, he also forced six missed tackles, plus had 78 of his 121 receiving yards come after the catch. Knowing Chism as a prospect, I am certainly not surprised.
This past season, the young slot receiver went berserk. Amongst the 474 wideouts in the FBS and FCS with 50+ targets in 2024, Efton Chism III’s metrics were nearly perfect as he ranked:
- 1st in Offensive Grade (92.1)
- 1st in Receiving Grade (92.6)
- 1st in Receptions (120)
- 1st in Yards After the Catch (798)
- 2nd in Targets (146)
- T-2nd in First Downs (60), tying Jayden Higgins and five more than Tetairoa McMillan
- T-3rd in Missed Tackles Forced (29), tying McMillan and falling 1 short of Luther Burden III
- 4th in Receiving Yards (1,306)
- T-5th in Receiving Touchdowns (13)
- 5th in Percentage of Targets Caught (82.2%)
- 9th in Yards per Route Run (3.45)
Although he’s considered undersized at 5’11”, 200 pounds, Chism III compensates for it with precise route running and routine separation using a combination of elite agility and fast feet. He has a 91st percentile agility score and tends to play slightly bigger than his actual size.
He is as reliable of a receiver as it gets, highlighted by his ability to catch over 82 percent of his targets (top-five rate) regardless of the fact he had the 2nd-most targets in the nation. The young product out of Eastern Washington is also a machine when it comes to generating yards after the catch. No receiver in college football was able to produce more yards after the catch (798) than Chism III did, with an impressive 60 percent of his receiving yards coming after the catch was made.
Those 120 receptions in 2024 actually broke a single-season record that was previously held by Cooper Kupp, a fellow Eastern Washington alum and slot receiver that turned his FCS success into NFL stardom. Over the course of 53 games, Chism produced 346 receptions for 3,852 receiving yards and 37 touchdowns, setting an FCS record of 53-straight games with a reception, breaking yet another Kupp record. His 346 receptions is also the most by any FCS player over the last decade.
Throughout his entire collegiate career, Chism accounted for a whopping 55.7 percent of Eastern Washington’s total team receiving yards and receiving touchdowns, earning himself a 99th percentile college dominator rating. No receiver in this class had higher than a 96th percentile dominator rating and that’s not even including the fact Chism posted a 25.9 percent college target share, which also ranked in the 93rd percentile for collegiate wide receiver prospects.
Fantasy football-wise, Chism is essentially free in all formats. This should further increase the incentive to roster him or at the very least add him to a taxi roster spot in dynasty. If he is still on your waiver wires, I would suggest picking him up as an intriguing stash. If he is not, he should not be expensive to acquire.
With the state of the New England wide receiver room, I would not be surprised if Efton Chism III earned his way into a valuable role as the go-to slot WR. Not only do the Patriots have a history of developing notable slot receivers like Wes Welker, Julian Edelman, and Jakobi Meyers — but they currently have the offensive coordinator that allowed those very three players to succeed in Josh McDaniels. I’d imagine coach McDaniels has a similar idea for Chism. Newly hired head coach Mike Vrabel also seems to be taking note:
