Patriots player profile: Kyle Williams is just what the doctor ordered at wide receiver

Previewing the Patriots wide receiver heading into his first NFL season.

Back in the 2024 NFL Draft, the New England Patriots spent two fairly high draft picks at the wide receiver position. With neither Ja’Lynn Polk nor Javon Baker showing much during their rookie seasons and with a new coaching staff coming to town, however, the need for more investment remained heading into the 2025 offseason.

The Patriots ended up making several moves to bolster the position group, including selecting Washington State’s Kyle Williams with the 69th overall pick in the third round of the draft.

Hard facts

Name: Kyle Williams

Position: Wide receiver

Jersey number: 18

Opening day age: 22 (11/13/2002)

Measurements: 5’10 5/8”, 190 lbs, 73” wingspan, 30 1/8” arm length, 8 3/4” hand size, 4.40s 40-yard dash, 36 1/2” vertical jump, 9’11” broad jump, 6.34 Relative Athletic Score

Experience

NFL: New England Patriots (2025-) | College: UNLV (2020-22), Washington State (2023-24)

A dual-threat quarterback early in his high school career, Williams made the move to wide receiver — while also playing defensive back — upon joining Santa Monica High School in Santa Monica, CA, for his senior season. His first year at his new position was a productive one, and he was eventually courted by several FBS-level schools as a three-star recruit.

Williams eventually decided to join UNLV, where he started all 25 of his games over a three-year period. During that time, he was on the receiving end of 117 catches for 1,568 yards and 9 touchdowns. Following the firing of head coach Marcus Arroyo after the 2022 season, however, he decided to enter the transfer portal and ended up at Washington State for the final two years of his college career.

The change of scenery was a positive one and allowed Williams to set new career highs in receptions, yards and touchdowns in back-to-back seasons. In total, he started 25 more games as a Cougar and added 131 catches for 2,040 yards and 20 TDs to his résumé.

As noted above, Williams was selected 69th overall by the Patriots in the 2025 NFL Draft.

Scouting report

Strengths: Williams can best be described with one word: explosive. The 22-year-old’s game is very much built around his ability to quickly get up to his 4.4-second speed and go through breaks without losing much momentum via wasted movement — all while varying his speed to put additional pressure on cornerbacks. His burst also makes it hard for would-be tacklers to get hold of him, which in turn allows him to be a threat with the ball in his hands as well as a productive player in the screen game.

A true three-level wideout, Williams had solid production in the short and intermediate areas as well as deep. His ability to create separation quickly — again a byproduct of his explosiveness — was a big reason for that: he was one of the top separators in the 2025 NFL Draft against both and man and zone coverage both due to his combination of a variety of different release packages, efficient hand usage, and those aforementioned sharp cuts.

Williams also is a reliable hands catcher. He tracks the ball well in the air on deep shots and despite his comparatively small frame is competitive at the catch point, registering a career-best contested catch rate of 62.5 percent (10 of 16) during his final season at Washington State. While not built like a WR1, he has plenty of attributes one would associate with a player carrying that label.

Weaknesses: Despite his college success and enticing traits, Williams is not the most physically or athletically imposing athlete. Besides his 85-percentile 40-yard dash, his other recorded testing numbers were all solid but not awe-inspiring for a player who checks in at under 5-foot-11 and 190 pounds with only 8 3/4-inch hands. As a result of that, there are questions about how his skillset holds up against pro-level competition.

Adding to that uncertainty is his relatively modest play strength. Williams can struggle against physical coverage both at the release point and throughout his routes — press man cornerbacks have shown that they can re-route him once they get their hands on him — while his ability to break tackles might not translate 1-on-1 to the NFL. He also is a question mark as a blocker in the run and screen games.

2024 review

Stats: 13 games (13 starts) | 780 offensive snaps, 4 special teams snaps | 101 targets, 70 catches (69.3%), 1,198 yards, 14 TDs | 9 carries, 57 yards (6.3 yards/carry) | 5 drops (5.0%), 1 fumble

Season recap: Based on his first four college seasons, Williams certainly looked like a draftable wide receiver. However, his decision to stay in school for a fifth year granted by the NCAA’s Covid-19 eligibility rules allowed him to significantly boost his draft stock. His 2024 campaign, after all, was clearly his best to date both from a production and general performance perspective.

Taking a step forward and establishing himself as one of the top wideouts in college football, Williams ranked near the top of the FBS standings in several categories. He ranked third among all wide receivers with 14 receiving touchdowns, fourth in yards (1,196) and ninth in yards per catch (17.1).

That final number was boosted by him forcing 21 missed tackles on 70 receptions en route to averaging 8.4 yards after catch. Among qualifying FBS wideouts of more than 85 targets, he finished the season second in that latter category.

One of William’s biggest strengths in 2024 was his consistency. He hauled in at least three passes in all but one of his 13 games and also found the end zone in nine of them. Along the way, he posted some ludicrous stat lines.

In the season opener against Portland, Williams caught four passes for 141 yards and a pair of scores, averaging 35.3 yards per catch. In a November loss to New Mexico he went 9-181-3 followed by a 10-172-1 performance in the Holiday Bowl against Syracuse — the latter setting a new yardage record in the game’s 45-year history.

Despite his productivity, Williams did not receive any individual accolades for his 2024 performance. However, that was mostly due to the fact that the Pac-12 had previously been reorganized and as a consequence of now consisting only of two teams — Washington State and Oregon — did not name all-conference players or hand out similar honors.

2025 preview

Position: Rotational X/Z-WR hybrid | Ability: Fringe starter/Role player | Contract: Signed through 2028

What will be his role? Williams spent a significant portion of open spring practices outside the numbers, a usage consistent with his college role. The expectation therefore is that he will compete for X-receiver snaps this summer and potentially even take over as the No. 1 option at the position. To do so, the rookie will primarily have to beat out the likes of Kayshon Boutte and Mack Hollins — not an insurmountable task despite his lack of experience. That said, his skillset does allow for a more varied role and it would not be a surprise to see Josh McDaniels use him in a variety of roles.

What is his growth potential? Williams enters the NFL with a well-rounded skillset, but he will need to adapt to playing against pro-level competition. There might be a cap on his ceiling based on his build and athletic makeup, but he has clear starter potential down the line and should develop into a reliable contributor with more experience.

Does he have positional versatility? As noted above, Williams spent most of his college career aligning on the outside. While that will likely also be the case in New England (at least early on to help with the transition from college), his explosive play style and fairly advanced technical setup should allow him to start wearing multiple hats in the future. He could become an X/Z hybrid who also provides value on schemed touches.

What is his salary cap situation? The 39th highest-compensated player on the Patriots’ current roster in terms of cap hit, Williams is counting $1.219 million against the team’s books in 2025. That number consists of a non-guaranteed $840,000 base salary and a fully-guaranteed $378,831 signing bonus proration.

How safe is his roster spot? His draft status alone would suggest that Williams is a lock to make the Patriots’ roster this season. Add his potential plus the fact that the team’s wide receiver group is a question mark right now and you get a player who will be on the 53-man team no questions asked this fall and beyond.

Summary: Considering his skillset relative to the rest of their current wide receiver depth chart, Williams was just what the doctor ordered for the Patriots. He can play on the perimeter, threaten teams deep and generate yards after catch — a combination of skills reminiscent of his teammate Stefon Diggs. Williams will be an understudy of sorts to the veteran, but considering what he offers might already become a valuable contributor and potential starting X-receiver as a rookie.

What do you think about Kyle Williams heading into the 2025 season? Please head down to the comment section to share your thoughts.