The Drake Maye, Kyle Williams Connection is Paying Off for Patriots

For the first nine weeks of the season, rookie wide receiver Kyle Williams was virutally invisible for the New England Patriots. Connection issues between Williams and quarterback Drake Maye were hindering the Washington State rookie to truly break out.

Ever since Week 10, where Williams exploded for his first career touchdown, he's carved out a nice niche as the team's best deep ball threat -- taking the crown from Kayshon Boutte.

He caught his second touchdown just a few games later against the New York Giants, and then caught a game-changing ball to pull the Patriots within one score against the Baltimore Ravens three weeks later. Williams has caught seven passes, and three of them have gone for touchdowns.

"First of all, great catch," Maye said postgame. "Great job getting his feet in. He got a knee down. (Ravens cornerback Marlon) Humphrey almost had a hand in there, and what a catch by Kyle. I saw him pressed up at the line. I tried to take a shot, and tried to hold the safety a little bit from making a play on it. Maybe a little more outside, I think, would have been better to not have had the hand in there, but Kyle made a great play and a great release. He can run, so I've got to try to find a way to give him the ball more, and he keeps on making plays and making big plays when the ball's in his hands."

Nov 9, 2025; Tampa, Florida, USA; New England Patriots wide receiver Kyle Williams (18) runs for a gain past Tampa Bay Buccaneers safety Sebastian Castro (24) during the second quarter at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Dyer-Imagn Images | Jonathan Dyer-Imagn Images

The 28-24 win over Baltimore was Williams' first game with more than a single grab. To go with his 37-yard touchdown, he also reeled in a nine-yard catch. He's slowly coming along in the Patriots' passing attack, and his young quarterback has leaned on Williams as his deep ball continues to progress.

"Just growing together as two young players that are figuring out the offense, figuring out each other and figuring out how he likes to run routes," said Maye. "What releases he likes to line, how I like him to be at the top of the route, what I like him to do to stack the receiver on a go route, little things like that that I think he just keeps on wanting to improve on and try to get him some deep shots."

Williams Is Setting Patriots Records In Year One

Williams has played more as the team's top kick returner in recent weeks, but his record-breaking ability in the passing game has opened eyes. He's the first Patriots wideout to score at least three touchdowns of 30+ yards in a year since Chris Hogan in 2016.

"I think he's going to be more and more involved in the shorter and intermediate passing game because he's got great route technique," Maye said. "He's great at the top of the route, and he's just figuring out how with his speed, he can use it to threaten DBs – they're going to be scared of his speed – to just allow him to get up and underneath more and make plays with the ball in his hands."

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