Patriots Beat Out AFC Team To Land Rookie WR

The New England Patriots had a terrific draft. After an offseason full of signing defensive talent like defensive tackle Milton Williams and cornerback Carlton Davis, New England focused heavily on their offense and getting more talent around quarterback Drake Maye.

The Patriots took LSU offensive tackle Will Campbell in the first round. They followed that up by taking Ohio State running back TreVeyon Henderson and Washington State wide receiver Kyle Williams on Day Two. The Patriots didn't stop there when it came to adding talent, though. New England signed 16 undrafted free agents, one of whom they had to outbid another AFC team.

According to Mike Reiss of ESPN, the Patriots had to compete with the Denver Broncos to sign Eastern Washington wide receiver Efton Chism.

"Chism's three-year contract includes $234,000 in guaranteed base salary, along with a $25,000 signing bonus, according to sources who have seen the deal," Reiss writes. "It is the richest deal among the Patriots' 16-member undrafted class and includes more in guarantees than the team's seventh-round picks. One reason for the lucrative deal is that the Patriots found themselves in a competitive bidding battle with other teams, which sources familiar with the discussions say included the Broncos as coach Sean Payton made a strong pitch to woo Chism to Denver (one of Chism's six predraft visits). But in the end, the Monroe, Washington, native who stayed home to attend his dream school Eastern Washington elected to move across the country to chase his NFL dream, with his agent Cameron Foster hammering out the deal with Patriots national scout Tony Kinkela."

The Patriots obviously see a lot of potential in the Eastern Washington product, and he could be the latest player to go from undrafted to undeniable.