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As injuries linger, Patriots rookie Kyle Williams could be poised for breakout opportunity
"We'll see where that goes late in the week, but Kyle should be ready to go here for us.”
The Patriots received more bad news on the injury front Thursday, as wideout Kayshon Boutte was once again a non-participant in practice due to a hamstring injury.
Boutte — who exited Sunday’s win over the Falcons — has emerged as Drake Maye’s most-trusted target on deep balls this season. The 23-year-old wideout has reeled in 23 catches and five touchdowns already this fall, averaging 18.7 yards per catch so far.
Maye and New England’s offense still managed to land punches against Atlanta’s top-ranked pass defense in Week 9, with DeMario Douglas breaking through with his first 100-yard game of his NFL career.
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But New England’s offense will be missing a key facet of their offense in a critical game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday if Maye can’t air throws deep down the field to a player like Boutte.
Mike Vrabel, Josh McDaniels, and the rest of New England’s coaching staff could dial up more snaps for wideouts like Douglas or even a bigger target like the 6-foot-4 Mack Hollins moving forward.
But if Boutte is sidelined for Sunday’s matchup at Raymond James Stadium, could rookie Kyle Williams be in line for a featured role?
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The 2025 third-round pick hasn’t been able to find traction out on the field quite yet, reeling in just two catches on six targets for 20 yards so far this season.
But speaking on Thursday, Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels signaled that Williams could be ready to take another step forward.
“I think Kyle’s doing a lot of really good things, and he’s a young player who’s come in and he’s — some of the guys that have been in front of him have really done a nice job,” McDaniels said. “So, I think that’s part of the role of a young player who’s trying to progress is you wait your turn, you get your opportunities, and then, hopefully, you make some plays and you continue to earn more. So, he practices hard every day.
“He’s out there every day, which is an important part for a young player to develop. He knows what to do. He’s played multiple spots. He knows how to function in multiple spots. We’ll see if there’s more opportunities out here as we go forward.”
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McDaniels is not the only coach in New England who is expecting more from Williams moving forward.
Even before the Patriots opted to not make any trades before Tuesday’s NFL trade deadline, Vrabel signaled on Monday that Williams was poised to take on a greater role with Boutte sidelined.
“[Williams has] settled down,” Vrabel said. “He had to play a lot of different positions and there’s a lot of moving parts. And Kayshon went down and Kyle’s been learning a lot of different positions. I’m excited that he’ll probably get an opportunity here, a little greater opportunity going forward.
“It’s just a lot of different personnel groups and alignments. And so, I think he settled down and I think that he’ll get an opportunity here moving forward. I think Kayshon’s going to be day-to-day, but I don’t see him practicing early in the week. We’ll see where that goes late in the week, but Kyle should be ready to go here for us.”
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