Former EWU WR Efton Chism III finding his niche with the Patriots ahead of Super Bowl 60
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – Long before he turned his life over to football, Efton Chism III could really swing it. Playing baseball growing up, he found a niche in the outfield in the Monroe area, using his speed to patrol the green and his bat speed to rack up hits at the plate.
Around that time in his life, way before he starred on the red turf at Eastern Washington, Chism and his youth baseball team took a trip to Boston to play in a tournament. When they were there, Chism and his teammates headed to Fenway Park, where they watched the Boston Red Sox take on the Seattle Mariners.
At the time, a young Chism figured he wasn’t doing much more than watching a baseball game. More than a decade later, he doesn’t just call Boston home. He’s playing for the city’s NFL team, the New England Patriots, who are set to take on the Seattle Seahawks in Sunday’s Super Bowl 60.
“Every day, you wake up and come to work,” Chism said this week in the Bay Area, the site of Sunday’s game, “it’s just a blessing. Try to always keep that mindset and that vision.”
No matter how long you look at Chism’s resume, the litany of accolades he picked up and the bevy of astonishing numbers he put up in Cheney, you would never come to this conclusion: “Yeah, he’ll probably play in the Super Bowl as a rookie.”
He’s listed at 5-foot-11. He authored a historic career at an FCS school, but an FCS school just the same. Heck, he went undrafted .
Since the dawn of the 21st century, only a handful of Eastern Washington players have gone on to hear their names called in the NFL draft. Perhaps the biggest name of all, wide receiver and EWU alumnus Cooper Kupp, will be playing in Sunday’s game. But the rest of the names are in shorter supply: linebacker Samson Ebukam in 2017, offensive tackle Jake Rodgers in 2015, running back Taiwan Jones in 2011, offensive tackle Michael Roos in 2005, fullback Dan Curley in 2003 and defensive back Lamont Brightful in 2002.
Plus, there’s former wideout Kendrick Bourne, who signed an undrafted deal in 2017 with San Francisco, where he’s back on the roster after a previous stint with New England.
Still, when the Patriots and Seahawks kick off at 3:30 p.m. Sunday, Chism might get an opportunity or two to make an impact on the sport’s biggest stage.
Chism, who made his NFL debut in mid-October, earned kick-returning duties for a six-game stretch in the regular season. He fared well, averaging 23.9 yards on 16 returns.
The Patriots gave Chism an expanded role on offense during their last two regular-season games, and he tallied three catches for 75 yards and a touchdown, which came on a 10-yard strike from quarterback Drake Maye in a Week 17 road win over the New York Jets.
In that game, Chism caught two passes for 40 yards, filling in for an injured Mack Hollins. That’s a key reason why he got on the field so much in that contest. He isn’t exactly near the front of New England’s wide receiver rotation – veterans Stefon Diggs, Hollins and DeMario Douglas get those honors – but that hasn’t stopped Chism from cashing in on the few opportunities he’s gotten this season.
“Tenacious work ethic,” Patriots wide receivers coach Todd Downing said of Chism. “He’s in my office every morning at 6 a.m. He beats a lot of coaches there. Works his tail off, wants to know the why. Doesn’t wanna be in a box where he’s just a slot receiver. He wants to do the dirty work. And I think he did a great job filling in for Mack in that game.”
Wait, 6 a.m.? Sure enough, Chism has found a friend in Hollins, who has been in the league since 2017. This season, they’ve been arriving together at the facility at that time – before the sun comes up, before many of their teammates and coaches have even arrived. Chism will get in two tubs, one cold and one hot, and get ready for what’s on the team’s docket for the day: practice, film, everything.
“Just always trying to find ways to get better, always trying to chase greatness,” Chism said. “That’s kinda one of the things I’m always trying to do. I feel like to be great, it’s hard. To be good, it’s hard too. To take that next step to be great, it’s something different. It’s always just chasing that and then always knowing that, man, if I’m not doing it, someone else is probably doing it. They’re getting better than me. So just trying to always continue to get better, continue to take steps forward each and every day.”
“That’s who he is. That’s not gonna change,” Eastern Washington coach Aaron Best said. “He’s not gonna change. The way I know Efton, he’s not gonna be different in five years. That’s just not a stunt for the first year to get in the door. That’s how he’s wired, that’s how he rolls.”
“He came in working,” New England receiver DeMario Douglas added. “Definitely love his work ethic. Love how he presents himself. He definitely works hard. What you do off the field is what you’re gonna get on the field. It shows, man, he’s a baller.”
The interesting part is that while that doesn’t necessarily represent a change in what Chism was doing in Cheney – he still worked hard during his five-year career at Eastern Washington, he says, which should be obvious based on the fact he caught 120 passes for 1,311 yards and 13 touchdowns as a senior – but now, he has to prove himself in ways he didn’t at EWU. Work in ways he didn’t in college.
One example that comes to Chism’s mind: The Patriots’ playbook is far deeper and more intricate than the Eagles’. When he was at EWU, he remembers, he could get away with lining up a yard inside or outside the hash mark, a bit outside of where the play called for.
“Compared to here,” Chism said, “everything has details for a reason, and it’s because it works for this coverage or this. So I think that’s probably one of the biggest adjustments.”
No matter what he was getting away with at EWU, Chism registered one of Eastern’s most decorated careers. To wit: He caught 346 passes for 3,852 yards and 37 touchdowns, including a single-season school-record 120 receptions in 2024. That bested Kupp’s previous record of 117. As a senior, Chism earned nods to the All-Big Sky first team, AP All-American first team, Phil Steele FCS All-American first team, Stats Perform FCS All-American first team, the AFCA All-American first team and about a dozen other honors, underscoring the historic legacy Chism left behind.
Chism may still be working his way into a similarly sterling pro career, but if his daily routine is any indication, he may yet get there.