Shawn Martel

An undrafted receiver made it all the way to the Super Bowl in February. One hour before kickoff they told him he was not dressing. Today he won a game in Buffalo with one hand. His name is Efton Chism III. He is from Monroe, Washington, and he is 5 foot 11. His father is a Marine Corps veteran. His mother and his older sister are both educators. He is the third Efton Lynn Chism in his family. The man who trained him from about the sixth grade was Michael Bumpus, a former Seattle Seahawks receiver who ended up as the head coach at Monroe High School. "Efton was the type of kid who did whatever you asked and went above and beyond," Bumpus said. He left Monroe as the school's all time leader in catches and receiving touchdowns. Almost nobody in Division I wanted him anyway. So he stayed home and went to Eastern Washington, in a town called Cheney, where the field is red. Then he had one of the great careers in FCS history. 346 catches. 3,852 yards. 37 touchdowns. He caught a pass in 53 straight games, which no player in FCS football has ever done. In 2024 he caught 120 passes in a season and broke Cooper Kupp's school record. His college coach Aaron Best described him in one line. "He's who you want your daughter to marry. He's who you want your quarterback to throw the ball to on third down." In 2025 he went undrafted. All seven rounds, 257 picks, nobody called. The New England Patriots signed him anyway and he made the roster. His position coach Todd Downing noticed one thing immediately. "Tenacious work ethic. He's in my office every morning at 6 a.m. He beats a lot of coaches there." Six in the morning. As an undrafted rookie who could be cut any Tuesday. He returned kicks that season. On offense he caught three passes the entire year. And then New England went to the Super Bowl. He got to the stadium. He went through the whole week. He was there. About an hour before kickoff they listed him inactive. The roster was full when a veteran receiver came back from injury. He stood on that sideline in street clothes and watched Seattle win it 29 to 13. Now today, in Buffalo. Fourth quarter. 1:55 on the clock. New England down by five. Drake Maye threw it deep right and Efton Chism III reached out and caught it with one hand for 23 yards and a touchdown. That was the game. Be honest about the size of it. One catch does not erase standing in a suit while your team plays for a championship. He is still a role player, and he will probably be returning kicks again next Sunday. But a man who was told he was not needed on the biggest day of his life kept showing up at six in the morning anyway. Today the ball came to him with the game on the line, slightly out of reach. He got one hand on it.