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Th<\/span>ough he didn\u2019t get a call<\/span> on draft day, <\/span>Efton Chism III, the superstar receiver whose senior season rewrote the Eagle record books, is ready to make his mark at the next level. <\/span><\/p>\n Just a day after the National Football League draft concluded, Chism \u201924 signed as an undrafted free agent with the New England Patriots. There he will compete to join former EWU wide receiver Kendrick Bourne, a seven-year NFL veteran who is currently on New England\u2019s roster. <\/span><\/p>\n Because only a fraction of the nation\u2019s most talented players can secure a spot in each year\u2019s seven-round NFL draft, the league\u2019s teams often rely on undrafted players to fill spots on their 54-man rosters. In 2018, Bourne himself entered the league as an undrafted free agent.<\/p>\n Chism\u2019s move to Boston comes on the heels of his remarkable 2024 senior campaign, one that saw him surpass Cooper Kupp\u2019s single season reception record with 120 catches \u2014 an eye-popping total which led both the Big Sky Conference and the entire FCS. During his final Eagle appearance at Northern Arizona, Chism notched his 53rd consecutive game with a reception, topping Kupp\u2019s previous record of 52. \u201cWhile the catch numbers might stand out, the real eye-opener is Chism\u2019s blend of play strength and competitiveness,\u201d wrote NFL.com<\/i> analyst Lance Zierlein before the draft. \u201cHe can make the first tackler miss, and will do whatever it takes to pick up yardage.\u201d<\/p>\n That combination of power and determination was a Chism trademark during each of his five years on the Eagle\u2019s roster. It was also a big reason why, over the course of that career, Chism earned 10 All-American awards and four All-Big Sky honors, two of them first-team selections.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n