The New England Patriots gift-wrapped an early Christmas present to a far-from-formidable Pittsburgh Steelers team 21-14 in Week 3. It was a pivotal swing game for the Patriots, and they laid a proverbial ostrich egg with five turnovers. Beating yourself is not exactly a prescription for a winning season. They now stand at 1-2.
There's a lot of blame to go around for this debacle, starting with questionable coaching calls and three running back fumbles. The latter is a totally unacceptable trend, and Head Coach Mike Vrabel has to address it before the season comes completely unraveled, before it even gets unwound.
One area that continues to be deficient is the wide receivers' production. On too many plays when Drake Maye actually does have time to pass, he's forced to take a sack or throw a ball away because receivers aren't getting separation.
Fortunately, Vrabel has a possible, at least partial solution in hand right now. It's rookie wide receiver Efton Chism III, for whom expectations were high before the start of the season.
Efton Chism III is Mike Vrabel's best option to boost the receiver room
While a lot was expected by some for Efton Chism III before the season, unfortunately, he's been inactive for the first three games of his NFL career after making the roster as an undrafted free agent. This glaring non-move, while it may have had some validity in the first two games, is now proving to be a poor decision by whoever is making it on the coaching staff.
Benching Chism is eliciting questions from numerous sources. With the lack of serious production from the wide receiving corps generally, these questions are entirely valid. In the Pittsburgh loss, the entire receiving corps combined for only 12 catches for a combined total of 93 yards and no touchdowns. That would equal the likely production of one Pro Bowl-level receiver on just a decent day. There are no Pro Bowl receivers on the Patriots' roster.
The likely casualty in targets, if not a gameday roster spot, is fellow slot receiver Pop Douglas. His statistics in 2025 are underwhelming. While he's only had a meager 13 targets in three games, he's managed only five receptions for a paltry 13 yards when he has caught the ball.
Mike Vrabel should activate Efton Chism III for the Week 4 game against Carolina
The lack of production generally from the wide receiving corps cries out for giving Efton Chism III an opportunity. At Eastern Washington, he was a catching machine who averaged 10 catches per game and caught 13 scores in 2024. It's hard to believe he'd be any less effective than really anyone ahead of him on the depth chart, absent maybe Stefon Diggs, if he gets the targets.
All Chism did at Eastern Washington and in the 2025 preseason was make catches. He was far and away the Patriots' most productive receiver in the preseason games, though roster locks don't get targets then. Regardless, Chism proved that he could do two important things whenever he is targeted.
He catches the ball when it's thrown to him, and he did that in the preseason from backup quarterbacks, not from the starting quarterback, Drake Maye. In addition, he proved he could make good things happen when he catches the ball, like getting yards after the catch and scoring touchdowns.
The Patriots need receivers who can get open fast. Drake Maye often has little time to pass. Chism did that in college and in the preseason. He needs to get the opportunity from Head Coach Mike Vrabel and Offensive Coordinator Josh McDaniels, now. If they doddle, it may well be too late for the 2025 season. There's nothing much to lose by giving him an opportunity, and there may be a whole lot to gain. There's only one way to find out: play him.