FOXBOROUGH — As an offensive coordinator and head coach, Josh McDaniels has been around plenty of wide receiver rooms.

At a position that inherently runs “hot and cold,” McDaniels has been struck by the unselfishness of the 2025 Patriots wideouts and the extra work they’ve been given by their position coach, Todd Downing.

Downing, a veteran offensive coach in his own right, credited the players for taking advantage of everything they can.

“It was, ‘Hey, I’m going make resources available to you guys and I’m available to you guys.’ Then I kind of leave it in their court to either take advantage or not. And they have,” Downing said. “Efton Chism is here at 6 a.m. every single morning. I’m sitting there with a cup of coffee waiting on him. If he’s not there at 6, I’m worried about him. But every one of them, every guy comes in my office before meetings. Stops in. Gets a couple nuggets about the game plan. They all work very, very hard.

“The key is going to be staying hungry, staying committed to the process when it gets later in the season and guys are feeling sore. They’re feeling more tired. The weather changes. All that. Can they stay consistent? Can they stay hungry? I believe they will and I’ll be here to serve them.”

Things have certainly gotten off to a promising start, as the Patriots sit 4-2 and the passing game has grown as the season has worn on.

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Drake Maye entered Week 7 fifth in the NFL in passing (1,522 yards), but New England didn’t boast a wideout in the Top 10. The Patriots quarterback has spread the ball around. Downing, who has been in the NFL for the past 21 seasons, believes this group is noteworthy for its unselfishness.

“There is something special about it,” Downing said. “I’ll say that. I’ve certainly been a part of some rooms that guys were a little bit more interested in looking out for No. 1 first, then if they were OK, celebrating everybody else. This group is not that way.”

Downing then pointed to a specific play from last week’s win over the Saints. On a deep ball in the first quarter, Kyle Williams drew a pass interference call, and Kayshon Boutte was sprinting down the sideline hoping to celebrate the rookie.

“If you watch that sideline tape, I wasn’t running on that one, but Kayshon Boutte was,” said Downing, who often sprints on the sideline. “Kayshon could have been mad that he wasn’t in there for the go ball or didn’t have a chance to run a deep route. But he was running down the sideline celebrating for Kyle thinking that he was going to go score a touchdown. That’s the kind of culture that I’m proud of in the room. They are truly cheering each other on. I think if you start with gratitude, and you start with celebrating each other, it’s really hard for that third emotion, selfishness, to come in. That’s a pretty cool thing. Hopefully we can continue that as we get going into the dog days of the season here.”

Through six weeks, the Patriots have had four different players lead the team in receiving yards: Boutte (twice), Stefon Diggs (twice), Hunter Henry, and Rhamondre Stevenson.

At his locker on Thursday, Boutte was bullish on what the pass catchers have been able to provide thus far.

“As you all see, it can be anybody’s week any week,” Boutte said. “So I think for the receiver group, just being ready whenever your name is called. I think overall we did a good job of doing that. Any way the ball goes, everybody catches the ball and moves the chains. So I’m confident in everybody. I love what we do. So just keep on doing it.”

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