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Kyle Williams Could Unlock Patriots Deep Pass Game

Day 2 WRs haven't been kind to the Patriots, but Kyle Williams has the tools to buck that trend and unlock Drake Maye.
Taylor KylesBy Updated:9 Mins Read

The Patriots’ aerial attack is slated to look much different in 2025 than in recent years.

After three years of unserious offense, head coach Mike Vrabel began his tenure by returning credibility to Foxboro. Josh McDaniels’ return puts a proven leader and play-caller back at OC, while signings Stefon Diggs and Mack Hollins should shore up the short-intermediate pass games.

The offense still lacked a home run threat entering the draft, and they addressed the need with one of this class’s best values. 

Kyle Williams was named a Freshman All-American at UNLV, but otherwise flew under the radar until his fifth college season and second at Washington State. The 22-year-old was a premier deep threat in 2024, ranking 2nd in catch rate, contested catch rate, and yards per route run on targets of 20+ air yards.

While Williams can hit home runs from all three levels, his vertical prowess should help unlock franchise quarterback Drake Maye’s rare arm talent. EVP of Player Personnel Eliot Wolf praised Williams’ alignment versatility, effectiveness with the ball in his hands, and exceptional toughness for an undersized player.

“He doesn’t shy away from anything,” Wolf said. “He can block. Had the opportunity to visit with him on his 30 visit here, and he really has a great personality, and we’re excited about what he’s going to add from that perspective.”

In his debut presser, the 5’11”, 190 lber described himself as “versatile, game-changing, and electric”, crediting his film study when asked about his success against man.

“Always perfecting the game, my craft,” Williams said. “I take pride in my craft. I feel like it’s an art. So, you have to really take pride in art, you have to be attention to detail, you have to worry about the little things, and I worry about those small little details and I try to correct them and match them to my game.”

McDaniels’ scheme is known more for efficiency than explosiveness, but he’s proven he’ll air it out with the right weapons.  In 2017, Tom Brady had were four more big-time throws than the next player, while top receiver Brandin Cooks led the league in deep catches. In 2022, Davante Adams led the league with 9 deep touchdowns, and McDaniels’ Raiders ranked 2nd in such attempts.

Expecting Williams to produce like Adams or Cooks is, of course, unrealistic. But all three are outside receivers with position flexibility and game-changing talent, so Adams and Cooks’ former roles could hint at Williams’ fit in McDaniels’ scheme.

ALERTS

The shortest path to the end zone is a straight line, so when McDaniels coached Adams, his quarterbacks fed the elite man-beater go balls vs press coverage. While these only led to one score, they made up nearly 1/3 of Adams’ deep production. 

Most of Adams’ go targets came on alerts: routes outside of the original progression that exploit weaknesses in coverage. These can turn quick concepts into big plays downfield, like on this explosive against the Broncos.

Quarterback Derek Carr goes under center in a spread look, and Adams–typically a boundary receiver or “X”–lines up at flanker or “Z”  beside the tight end. Corner Pat Surtain II lines up across from Adams as the sole press defender in Denver’s split-safety shell, virtually guaranteeing a 1-on-1 matchup.

Carr, rather than hitting his tight end for an easy conversion, goes for the big fish and completes to Adams on a backshoulder ball.

McDaniels also manufactured 1-on-1 matchups by isolating Adams in 3×1 formations. This forced defenses to trust their corners on an island or commit help to the receiver’s side. 

Here, the Raiders use a three-receiver set with Adams pressed backside and tight end Michael Mayer in the slot between Hollins and Hunter Renfrow. Blitzing safety Rayshawn Jenkins lines up over Renfrow with corner Darious Williams over Mayer, tipping the Jaguars’ match Cover 3, and Carr changes the play pre-snap.

Carr looks off free safety Andre Cisco, who cheats towards Adams to dissuade a throw his way. and Adams makes a contested grab before crossing the goal line.

McDaniels also made Adams an option on run plays, using RPOs to strike deep when opportunities presented themselves.

On this 3rd & 2 against the Chiefs, KC matches Vegas’ spread shotgun look with single-high man coverage.

Charvarius Ward throws a two-hand jam at the snap, forcing Adams backwards, but Jarrett Stidham still pulls the ball and connects with Adams on a beauty down the sideline.

RUN ACTION

One of Vrabel’s core philosophies is being aggressive but not reckless. McDaniels fits that to a tee, and nowhere is that more evident than in his play-action scheme. He’s a master of marrying his ground and pass games, weaponizing run looks to attack out-leveraged corners and overmatched safeties. 

Heavier groupings—like multiple tight ends, a fullback, and/or an extra lineman—get opponents thinking run, while backfield deception—like pulling guards, counter steps, and fakes to receivers—keep defenders’ eyes busy and allow routes to develop. That time and protection takes receivers out of the pattern, but numbers mean nothing if you can’t match the deepest route.

Much of Cooks’ 2017 deep production came off play action, where his speed helped flip field position.

On this drive-starter against McDaniels’ future team, the Patriots hurry to the line and call “Yankee” from a three-tight-end set. Dwayne Allen stays in to block, but tight ends Rob Gronkowski and Martellus Bennett run a hi-low over the middle while Cooks goes deep on a post.

The Raiders respond with their base defense, but try protecting themselves deep by playing Cover 4 .

Brady fakes a handoff from under center, then, seeing Cooks has torched a bracket, uncorks a bomb down the middle to start the series with a 52-yard completion.

McDaniels also gave Cooks YAC opportunities on deep in-breakers. Here, the Patriots use a similar look and concept, which the Texans match with base Cover 4, but Chris Hogan replaces the third tight end and runs a post.

Gronkowski pulls to simulate split flow, and Brady fakes a stretch handoff before setting up in a clean pocket. Cooks gets behind the quarter safety on a deep in-cut, catches an anticipatory pass in stride, and outruns pursuit for a quick six.

In-breakers are a staple of McDaniels’ pass game, and every defensive coordinator knows it. To counter this, he sprinkles in complementary out-breakers that keep defenders honest, like this all-out run fake against Pittsburgh.

The Patriots use Pony personnel with Gronkowski and Allen on the same side, running back Rex Burkhead beside them as a pseudo-Z, and as the solo receiver Cooks. The Steelers go base and walk a safety down to the line, forming a six-man front vs the gimmicky run look.

Allen pulls on a fake end around, and Cooks stems hard inside at post safety Mike Mitchell. Corner Artie Burns tries to pass off Cooks, leaving Mitchell out-leveraged when the receiver breaks back outside. Cooks takes advantage and hauls in a 40-yard dot to set up a Dion Lewis score.

DOUBLE MOVES

McDaniels also sets up home run opportunities without run action, torching defenses on well-timed double moves off his bread-and-butter concepts.

In New England, where outs were a common solution to Cover 3, he punished over-aggressive corners with the occasional out-n-up.

Here, McDaniels calls an all-verts concept from 12 personnel, featuring double moves outside, a seam from Gronkowski, and extra protection from Allen and Lewis. Vegas calls Cover 3 to match Gronkowski in the slot with a strong safety.

Cooks starts his route at about 3/4 speed, uses a lean and nod to sell the out, then explodes out of his break and catches a 50-yard dime en route to pay dirt.

Adams didn’t run many double-moves under McDaniels, but when he did, they went for huge gains against the Chargers. One came in season opener, during the Raiders’ first drive of 2nd-half.

McDaniels’ offense comes out in a two-back set, but does something unexpected by putting fullback Jakob Johnson on the wing in a 3×1 shotgun look. Adams lines up inside to form a twins look, prompting safety Nasir Adderley to drop and reveal a single-high zone.

Hollins clears out both safeties, leaving Asante Samuel with a leverage advantage against Adams, but the corner drives hard on an inside fake. Adams fluidly flips toward the sideline and turns acres of space into a couple dozen extra yards.

Samuel learned from his mistake in the Week 12 rematch, but McDaniels is almost always a step ahead.

The OC calls a nearly identical 3×1 look to kick off another 2nd half, but with Adams and Hollins flipped, the tight-end attached, and no motion. LA, deep in the their own territory, switch it up and call Cover 4.

Adams fakes another dig, and Samuel shows more restraint by staying square. But instead of Adams finishing to the outside, he goes deep, puts the corner in panic mode, and adjusts to an underthrown ball for a score.

CONCLUSION

There’s enough veteran insulation that Williams doesn’t need to star for New England. But between his explosiveness and pro-ready releases, McDaniels’ success with speedy man-beaters, and the Patriots’ lack of vertical juice, the rookie should have every chance to make an early impact.

Looks for the OC to get Williams involved with isolated matchups, run fakes, and a dash of double-moves, forcing defenses to respect his presence and opening up the rest of the offense.

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Taylor Kyles is the lead NFL Analyst for CLNS Media covering players, schemes, and tendencies through a New England Patriots-centric lens.

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