Broncos' Payton Reportedly 'Made a Strong Pitch to Woo' Patriots' UDFA Efton Chism III

Undrafted wide receiver Efton Chism III may have a landing spot on the Denver Broncos if he doesn't make the New England Patriots' roster ahead of the 2025 campaign.

ESPN's Mike Reiss reported Sunday that the Eastern Washington product made six predraft visits with teams. While he ultimately wasn't drafted, Reiss noted Broncos head coach Sean Payton "made a strong pitch to woo" him as an undrafted free agent.

Given how many teams had Chism on their radar and the overall competition, the Patriots ended up giving him the richest deal of the 16 undrafted free agents they brought in even though they weren't one of the teams to host him for a predraft visit.

The three-year contract features $234,000 in guaranteed base salary—more than the team's seventh-round draft picks—and a $25,000 signing bonus.

New England head coach Mike Vrabel said the slot receiver "made an impact on him" when evaluating his overall skill set. The production certainly isn't a question either, as he broke Cooper Kupp's FCS record with at least one reception in 53 consecutive games on his way to 346 catches for 3,852 yards and 37 touchdowns.

Kupp also went to Eastern Washington and is certainly a blueprint for success for FCS players.

"Efton is not the biggest. He's not the fastest. He's not the strongest. But I will say he's most committed—his Valentine is bigger than most people," Eastern Washington coach Aaron Best said, per Reiss. "His care of his teammates is bigger than most people. When you have a chip on your shoulder, that's real and you carry it for life. That's what he did in high school to get to college. He wasn't a highly recruited kid out of high school. No FBS offers, much like Coop."

While Chism was not on B/R's NFL Scouting Department's final big board of the top 300 players and top 46 wide receivers leading up to the draft, he impressed at the East-West Shrine Bowl with his overall shiftiness and ability to make defenders miss: 

"The real eye-opener is Chism's blend of play strength and competitiveness," NFL Media's Lance Zierlein wrote in a scouting report. "He can make the first tackler miss and will do whatever it takes to pick up yardage."

Despite all the attention for Chisim given his undrafted status, he is facing a crowded wide receiver room in New England that includes Stefon Diggs, Mack Hollins, Kyle Williams, DeMario Douglas, Kendrick Bourne, Kayshon Boutte, Ja'Lynn Polk and Javon Baker.

It could be something of an uphill battle to make the team, although the guarantees in his contract could help his cause.

Yet that interest from other teams, including the Broncos, will also help his cause if he doesn't make the roster. It isn't difficult to envision him lining up in the slot in Payton's offense and taking advantage of the single coverage that comes from defenses focusing more attention on Courtland Sutton and Marvin Mims Jr.

He could be another weapon for young quarterback Bo Nix as he looks to take a leap in his second season.

Although the same can be said about Drake Maye in New England, and Chism will have an opportunity to build some chemistry with the North Carolina product since that is the team he ultimately joined.