FOXBOROUGH - What can Kyle Williams do for this Patriots offense? After the team added A.J. Brown and Romeo Doubs, his path to more playing time hit a roadblock that’s unlikely to change (barring injury). His training camp has been uneven, and some days go by where he’s quiet. Too quiet.
However, in the preseason opener Thursday night - albeit against backups - Williams’ strengths shined through, as did his weaknesses. He finished with 2 catches on three targets for 37 yards, playing only in the opening half. His head coach, Mike Vrabel, made sure to poke back at last week's conversation surrounding Williams and his role on the team.
“Oh yeah, you guys were all laughing at me when I told you the other day,” he said, referencing Williams having a role on the team. “But no, you just keep chipping away at it and keep progressing and keep learning and working hard. The guys all understand. The guys in the receiver room, those guys are the first guys down there to celebrate his success, and I think that that's what you want to see: guys that keep working and progressing and then see it translate into the football game.”
The obvious place to start with Williams’ night was on the game’s first touchdown. It came in the second quarter, and it was basically a carbon copy of what he’s done to Pats cornerbacks during camp. Poor Johnathan Edwards. The second-year defender allowed Williams to have a clean release, and then when he tried to get hands on within that five-yard window, Williams hit him with the okie doke, jabbing inside before crossing over to get to around Edwards’ outside shoulder. From there, it was an easy pitch and catch for a 12-yard touchdown.
“I can’t wait to go back and watch that,” Efton Chism said. “I heard he really got him.”
It was an eventful first half for Williams. He drew a defensive pass interference on the very first third down of the game, with cornerback Mekhi Blackmon feeling the need to grab Williams’ inside arm, then the jersey. That resulted in a 9-yard penalty and a first down on a drive that ended with a field goal.
He showed up again late in the second quarter. The Pats had the ball with 59 seconds at their own 32-yard line. They needed a drive starter, and Williams provided that. He convinced the corner he was going vertical, then stopped on a dime, driving hard toward the sideline. Tommy DeVito hit him on the break, and Williams shrugged off a tackle to pick up 25 yards before getting out of bounds.
DeVito went back to the Williams well on the very next play and had he thrown a better ball, it could have easily been the