FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Quick-hit thoughts and notes around the New England Patriots and NFL:
1. Williams’ way: It appeared wide receiver Kyle Williams had an important decision to make last December.
He had one game remaining in his college career, but with Washington State in the midst of a coaching transition and more than 20 teammates immediately entering the transfer portal, the question was: Would he play in the Holiday Bowl?
To Williams, however, there wasn’t a decision to make — he was always playing.
Such a mentality appealed to the Patriots, who selected Williams in the third round of the NFL draft (No. 69 overall) and project him as a speedy, versatile complement to veteran free agent signees Stefon Diggs and Mack Hollins and top slot option DeMario “Pop” Douglas, among others.
“When your best player puts his foot down and says, ‘This is important, we need to do it,’ and he’s the first one to step out on the field, there is a lot of power in that,” said former Washington State coach Jake Dickert, who was hired as Wake Forest’s coach before the Holiday Bowl.
“I obviously didn’t get to see that one all the way through, but knowing the coaches that were there, he was one of the catalysts for the type of effort and energy that team played with. He earned it, and you do that through a ton of action. He also knew the value he could create for himself. He went out there and people saw every step of the way, ‘This guy loves ball. He loves playing. He loves his teammates.’ To do that, I think, is a big stamp on the character piece of Kyle Williams.”
Williams totaled 10 receptions for 172 yards and one touchdown in the Cougars’ 52-35 loss to Syracuse — not the Holiday Bowl result he hoped for, but a performance that helped uplift an undermanned team in a competitive game.
“As a person, you’re not going to get much better. We had an opportunity to get him at a really pivotal time in his life, and he just developed so much with us,” Dickert said. “He needed Pullman, Washington, as much as we needed him.”
Williams transferred from UNLV to Washington State in 2023, in part to play with quarterback Cam Ward. The receiver’s connection with Ward further elevated his football career — Dickert noted Williams “can really run, wins in the release phase of the route and is a tremendous over-the-top deep-ball catcher” — but there was also something important evolving behind the scenes.
“Growing up in L.A. and going to another big city in Vegas, there’s some magical part to going and doing something really uncomfortable — 30,000 [population] Pullman, Washington, and not having a lot of things that you’re familiar with growing up. I just think he discovered himself as a man,” Dickert said.
“I think that is what is going to make him be successful in the NFL, because he is used to doing uncomfortable things — growing, learning and getting better.”
In two seasons at Washington State, Williams totaled 131 receptions for 2,040 yards and 20 touchdowns.
Last season, his 1,198 receiving yards were the eighth most in the FBS, and his 14 receiving touchdowns were fourth behind Nick Nash (16), Travis Hunter and Jeremiah Smith (15). Williams’ 14 catches on passes thrown 20-plus yards downfield tied for fourth.
Asked to describe his style of play shortly after the Patriots drafted him, Williams said, “Versatile, game-changing and electric.”
In three seasons at UNLV, he had 117 receptions for 1,568 yards and nine touchdowns. Williams had been a key recruit at UNLV in then-coach Marcus Arroyo’s first class.
“The character and work ethic are the things that stick out the most — a small-school guy in inner-city L.A., really under-recruited, kind of a needle in a haystack,” said Arroyo, who is currently in his second season as offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach at Arizona State.
“There were a couple kids that were outliers that I thought had some really good skill sets, but more than anything, were tough and loved football. Kyle was right at the top of the list. … He went to [three] different [high] schools — was still the best player, never really said a bad thing about changing schools, his hardships growing up. I knew we had a guy who was going to take every second, every breath, to learn it and try to become the best he could.”
Arroyo believes that makes Williams an ideal fit for the Patriots’ culture, which he first became familiar with as an assistant under Dick Tomey at San Jose State from 2005 to 2008 (Tomey coached Patriots Hall of Famer Tedy Bruschi at Arizona) and later while coaching at Cal (when the Patriots selected running back Shane Vereen).
Arroyo shared his answer to those in the NFL who asked him about Williams leading up to the draft.
“Those guys want to know, ‘Are they blue-collar guys who show up early and stay late? Will they be team-oriented? Are you going to have to worry about them off the field?’ Those are the ones I was able to answer dramatically, and stand on the table and say, ‘This guy is all football, he comes from nothing, put himself in position to make the NFL.’
“I can’t say enough good things about the human, the person, the work ethic. In that regard, that’s where we all want to start — someone who loves ball and wants to work his butt off.”
2. Larison’s guarantee: Of the 17 undrafted free agents the Patriots agreed to contracts with, UC Davis running back Lan Larison has one of the richest deals as he received $175,000 in guaranteed money. That reflects how the Patriots likely had competition from other teams to land Larison, a dual threat who finished his college career with 641 carries for 3,634 yards and 41 touchdowns, and 127 receptions for 1,626 yards and 10 TDs.
Closer to home, Boston College offensive lineman Jack Conley also had other suitors, as his contract with the Patriots includes $110,000 in guaranteed money.
The Patriots’ three-day rookie minicamp starts Friday.
3. Maye works ahead: Quarterback Drake Maye said one of his goals this offseason is to master the verbiage of coordinator Josh McDaniels’ offense, specifically working ahead of his teammates in that area so they can look to him with assurance and avoid a situation where he might say, “We used to call it this [in the old offense], but now it’s this.”
The goal, Maye explained, is to “just try to switch the lingo completely, revert to the new way, and don’t speak in the past.”
4. Diggs’ impression: While Diggs is still rehabbing from a torn ACL in his right knee, veteran tight end Austin Hooper seemed surprised at what he has been able to do during the team’s voluntary offseason program.
“Energy, man. He’s a freak. You can see him already with the explosion, the change of direction, the top end [speed]. It’s like, ‘Dang, it must be nice’,” Hooper said.
Meanwhile, Maye shared that Diggs was on his fantasy team in high school and that now he’s excited to throw to him as a teammate.
5. Vrabel’s chest pad: One consistent part of Mike Vrabel’s coaching style is how he puts on a chest pad and engages players at the line of scrimmage, which included first-round pick Will Campbell now-famously knocking him on his backside in a predraft workout in Louisiana. Vrabel said that’s one way he can feel a player’s power.
Recently signed edge rusher K’Lavon Chaisson smiled while explaining that there’s a benefit to Vrabel’s approach for players: There aren’t many jobs in which employees can blast their boss.
“When you get a chance to put your hands on him, you want to take advantage of it and get a good strike in,” he cracked.
6. They said it: “When I got the offer sheet from the Raiders, I’m sitting down with my wife, tearing up, and I’m like, ‘Is this really happening? I’ve been cut six times.'” — restricted free agent linebacker Christian Elliss, reflecting on the two-year, $13.5 million deal that the Patriots matched from the Raiders and what it represented in his career journey including stops with Minnesota, San Francisco, Philadelphia and New England
7. Ashby intel: The Patriots made Vanderbilt’s Julian Ashby the first NFL long-snapper drafted since 2021 when they selected him in the seventh round (No. 251), and sources familiar with the matter said Ashby had private workouts with nine teams before the draft, including one with the Patriots in Nashville that Vrabel was part of alongside another scout and special teams coordinator Jeremy Springer.
Ashby also had a predraft visit with the Bears in Chicago. So instead of having to compete with other teams to sign Ashby as an undrafted free agent, the Patriots moved ahead with drafting him.
With the releases of LS Joe Cardona and C David Andrews, and Deatrich Wise Jr. and Jonathan Jones departing as free agents, the 4 longest tenured Patriots are no longer with the team.
New longest tenured players: S Kyle Dugger, OLB Anfernee Jennings, OL Mike Onwenu … from 2020. pic.twitter.com/YdwlYC0NXK
— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) April 30, 2025
8. Cardona’s goodbye: When long-snapper Joe Cardona was released early last week after 10 years with the Patriots, he made the rounds inside Gillette Stadium to say goodbye to various team employees with whom he’d developed a connection over the past decade. Part of that included Cardona, who was choking up at times, joining a meeting of the Patriots’ content team to say thank you.
“In my 30 years here, we’ve never had a [released] player come up and do that,” Fred Kirsch, publisher and VP of content, said on the “Patriots Unfiltered” show.
9. Patriots unite: It said something about the impact late tight end Don Hasselbeck had on Patriots players from all eras that his memorial services late last month included the presence of former teammates such as quarterback Steve Grogan, guard John Hannah, receiver Stanley Morgan and center Pete Brock, to more recent players such as Matt Cassel, Matthew Slater and Nate Solder. The showing touched the Hasselbeck family, especially considering services were held in Nashville.
10. Did you know? Since 2000, the Patriots have selected two players from the same school in the draft 17 times — most recently this year with LSU offensive tackle Campbell (first round) and edge rusher Bradyn Swinson (fifth round).
