FOXBOROUGH, Mass — Selfless.
That's the identity of the New England Patriots' wide receiver room.
"Those receivers, they don’t care who catches the ball. They don’t care who catches a touchdown," Patriots coach Mike Vrabel said. "They’re just as excited for the next guy if it was them, and I think that’s truly what we want to build around here."
There's no denying that the Patriots' wide receiver room is close. They are all often seen together, smiling and joking, while also helping each other with plays and providing feedback whenever it's needed. Plus, there are the Thursday practices when each member wears all red underneath their jerseys, which has now become a weekly tradition.
They celebrate the highest of highs with one another, while also
being there to pick each other up when something doesn't go their way.
“Just your brothers, man. I mean, you see how much work they put in," Kyle Williams said. "For me, as I’ve always been, ‘If one eat, we all eat.’ So, just seeing the joy on their faces, I think that’s a priceless feeling that you can have. You can always feel good for yourself, but when you start feeling good for other people, I mean, that’s the greatest feeling in the world.
"So, we just want to see each other eat and see each other do our best. So, it’s just like this. There’s no grudges when people are having fun out there, man. I just love to see everybody eat.”
Efton Chism shared similar sentiments.
“I think it’s just how much respect we have for everyone’s work ethic on a day-to-day basis," the second-year receiver explained. "We love each other, we’re a tight group. I love seeing Kyle [Williams] score, Rome [Doubs] score, Pop [DeMario Douglas], it’s just so awesome. Even with Mack [Hollins] and A.J. [Brown] out, everyone is just so close and tight. It’s an awesome room; I’m very blessed to be a part of it.”
And much of that is a credit to the group's position coach, Todd Downing.
“It starts with our coaches. TD [Todd Downing] has been preaching serving. I feel like that’s what God put us on this earth to do: to serve others," DeMario Douglas said. "I feel like our group has been harping on that. Run play, we’ve got to serve the running back. Serve whoever it needs to. Pass play, serve Drake [Maye]. Give him the confidence to throw that ball. So, I feel like it’s been good.”
That unselfishness has become very apparent, and for Vrabel, he wants the rest of the team to take a page out of the receivers' book.
"I’ve got to get it to be the entire team," the head coach said. "I’ve got to get the entire team to look at it like that."
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This article originally appeared on Patriots Wire: Mike Vrabel wants Patriots to adopt one key trait of WR room
