With his ‘joy’ back, can Kyle Williams become a difference maker?

“Something I really needed to just bring the joy back for me, and it’s back now.”

Kyle Williams averaged over 30 yards per catch. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Kyle Williams could finally exhale on Sunday evening.

As banged up as New England’s wideout corps has been throughout the start of the 2026 season, Williams still found himself on the outside looking in at regular reps on the field — with additional snaps doled out to other players further down the depth chart.

With both A.J. Brown and Mack Hollins sidelined, Drake Maye, Josh McDaniels, and the Patriots’ key offensive engineers elevated players like Efton Chism and DeMario Douglas into regular roles.

The same can’t be said for Williams, with the 2025 third-round pick entering Sunday’s game against the Raiders with just two catches for 44 total yards on the season.

He more than doubled that total against Las Vegas —even off of just three catches.

While Williams still only logged 36 percent of New England’s total snaps on offense (27) against the Raiders, he made the most of his opportunities — averaging 30.3 yards per reception and snagging his first touchdown of the year in the Patriots’ 45-17 win.

“Definitely a confidence booster,” Williams said on his performance. “Something I really needed to just bring the joy back for me, and it’s back now. So, I’m happy.”

New England’s shorthanded pass-catching corps once again delivered on Sunday in Foxborough — with Drake Maye completing passes to nine different players in the lopsided win.

“They’re all ready to go; they all play different positions. That’s not easy to learn three different positions and being able to step in there and block and make plays,” Mike Vrabel said of his receiving corps. “The ball found each and every one. [Wide receivers coach] Todd [Downing] does a great job.

“I mean, they all care about each other. Those receivers — they don’t care who catches the ball. They don’t care who catches the touchdown. 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. I’ve got to get it to be the entire team. I’ve got to get the entire team to look at it like that.”

Chism, New England’s Week 4 hero, snagged five catches for 57 yards while logging 57 offensive snaps for the Patriots, while DeMario Douglas recorded his first career two-touchdown performance.

But it was Williams who led New England in receiving yards due to his big-play capabilities — using his straight-line acceleration and crafty assortment of releases off the line to slip past defensive backs and give Maye a tantalizing target deep downfield.

During the third quarter, Williams capitalized after faking out Raiders rookie cornerback Hezekiah Masses and streaking down the left sideline.

Getting Masses to bite was all Williams needed to gain separation — with Maye hitting him in stride before crossing into the end zone for the touchdown.

Williams’ second big gain of the afternoon might have been even more encouraging, as the second-year wideout gained 49 yards on a post route.

Even with Las Vegas dialing up the blitz against Maye, Williams’ ability to exploit man coverage still let New England flip the field with a deep dart.

Even though Williams’ route tree has been limited at times and was flagged for an offensive pass interference on Sunday, Vrabel was impressed with how Williams seemingly improved as the game carried on.

“I think this is something that we focused on is [Williams] probably started blocking his guy a little too soon on a screen, and they called him for offensive pass interference, and he doesn’t let that affect him,” Vrabel said. “He comes back and runs an amazing route, and Drake gives him a great ball.

“And so, you know, the players were able to stay focused on the next play and understand that the history of the last play or the history of last week doesn’t have any bearing on what their performance has to be on the next play.”

Reinforcements might be on the way for New England’s offense, especially if A.J. Brown is given the green light to practice this week.

But rather than rescuing a shorthanded, scuffling wideout group, Brown seems to be joining a unit that’s starting to find its stride, Williams included.

“I mean, the whole receiving room, the whole team, we’re just good at uplifting people, bringing the juice, bringing the energy,” Williams said. “When things look a little slow and foggy, you’ve just got great people around you that are able to uplift you and uplift your spirit. So, it’s a great group, man.”