Wide receiver Gunner Olszewski is getting his shot with the New England Patriots.
Every season, we see a few different underdog stories of players who have had unusual or uncommon journeys to the NFL. The latest example of that is New England Patriots wide receiver and kick returner Gunner Olszewski.
At the end of the third quarter of New England’s game on Monday Night Football against the New York Jets, the ESPN television crew of Steve Levy, Brian Griese and Louis Riddick made note of Olszewski and his path to the Patriots and the NFL.
Unlike other players in the league, Olszewski didn’t attend a Division I college and went undrafted before arriving in New England. And with the Patriots now dealing with some injury issues, most notably within the receiving unit and with wideouts Julian Edelman and N’Keal Harry, Olszewski is getting his opportunity to show what he can do.
Olszewski is in his second season in the NFL in 2020, signing with the Patriots in 2019. The 23-year-old wide receiver and kick returner hasn’t seen much time on the field, but did in Week 9 and might get more chances for the rest of the year.
In 2019, his first season as a professional, Olszewski appeared in eight games for New England. He finished with two catches for 34 yards while returning 20 punts for 179 yards during that span.
So far in 2020, he has played in five games, recording two catches for 10 yards while returning 16 kicks for 385 yards and two punts for 27 yards. As a returner, he is averaging 24.1 yards per kick return and 13.5 yards per punt return through Week 9.
Gunner Olszewski is a true underdog story with the New England Patriots.
The underdog story of Olszewski is one worth looking back at. Just three years ago, Olszewski was playing in his final season as a cornerback with Bemidji State, a Division II football program in Bemidji, Minnesota. Now, he is in the NFL with the Patriots and getting recognized on Monday Night Football on primetime television.
Coming out of Bemidji State, the Texas native went undrafted before signing with New England and later being converted from cornerback to wide receiver after barely playing any wide receiver in his football career.
During training camp in both 2019 and 2020, Olszewski saw some reps with the first-team unit while also being thrown in at kick/punt returner, running back and cornerback during camp. At one point, he was also told by the team that he would be waived but has now started to carve his spot on the depth chart this year.
Is Olszewski a player that could make a meaningful impact on the Patriots roster moving forward? Who knows. But his path to New England and to the NFL is one worth noting, as it’s not a common path taken by many professional players around the league.
Olszewski could continue to see the field here in 2020, especially with some injury issues continuing to pop up around the Patriots depth chart. And he is just the latest example of an underdog story in the NFL.