When will Patriots receiver Kyle Williams get his opportunity?

Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels had plenty of positive things to say about rookie wide receiver Kyle Williams in his Thursday press conference, but not that he's on the verge of breaking out for the offense.

McDaniels smiled when asked about how the team can work the 2025 third-round draft pick into the offense more. Of the Patriots receivers who have dressed for every game this season, Williams has seen the fewest snaps. His 64 snaps across six games account for 17% of the team total. His production is just as sparse: two catches on four targets for 20 yards.

It's hard for Williams to crack the lineup at the moment. With Stefon Diggs and Kayshon Boutte playing at a high level, and the Patriots often employing two tight ends on offense, there aren't a ton of other snaps to go around.

McDaniels hinted at a rookie who is still learning the nuances of the NFL game, and with that comes blocking and other assignments that don't involve catching the ball.

“I think some of that is the opportunities," McDaniels said. "What we've done is look at the things we're doing when the ball doesn't come to you. Are you doing the right things? And a lot of times [Williams] is. I've said that I feel like a broken record. The ball hasn't quite found him on certain things yet, but if it does, then I think then we'll see what that looks like.”

Despite the lack of box score stats, McDaniels expressed support for the young receiver.

“I think opportunities are there. He's present and available every day at practice. He's doing a really good job of understanding his assignments," McDaniels said. "Like I've said about Pop (Douglas) and Kayshon (Boutte) and [Diggs] and different guys at different times, I think it'll find him and we just got to continue to try to press forward on the process of doing the right thing. I'm excited when he gets his opportunity.”