FOXBOROUGH - I’ll say this for Kyle Williams: the man doesn’t lack confidence. When asked what he brings to the table beyond the obvious - speed - he smiled and gave us this gem:
“A lot. I mean, if I wanted to really go, I'd give you a Christmas list for real,” he smiled. “But I can do a lot, man. And when those opportunities present itself, that's when I'll be able to show it. But I know I'm more than just speed.”
Williams was a popular person in the Patriots locker room on Monday, for obvious reasons. With A.J. Brown being placed on injured reserve and being out a bare minimum of four weeks - and probably longer - the reconfigured receiving core is going to need someone to step up, and based on the Pats internal feelings about Williams, he is - and needs to be - the proverbial next man up.
“I mean, with AJ, we wanted to get Kyle involved,” Mike Vrabel said. "I'm hopeful that Kyle can find a role for us and find a way to help us and use his speed and catch-and-run opportunities, like we saw last year at times, or some shot-type plays.”
Williams had a very limited role in the offensive plan in Wednesday’s season opener. He played a dozen snaps, 8 of which were pass plays (post-game data had him lined up as the X receiver on all of those). Similar to last year, the ball didn’t come his way very often, or in this case, at all. Williams was targeted zero times.
Meanwhile, Mack Hollins saw his reps jump dramatically after Brown's injury, going from a 21% snap count to 71%, and he was a big part of the passing offense down the stretch.
“Mack’s always taking advantage of his opportunities,” Vrabel noted. “The quarterback knows he’s going to be in the right spot when he’s supposed to be there.”
Though he developed more chemistry with Drake Maye as last season progressed, Williams doesn’t have the experience or the same feel for the passing game that a veteran like Hollins does. Which makes you wonder if the Pats might alter their approach with Brown sidelined - both personnel-wise and schematically.
“We're looking at trying to install here and putting guys in spots that are