“He’s very fearless, he doesn’t care.”
In retrospect, it should be a surprise that Gunner Olszewski, a cornerback-turned-wideout from Bemidji State, was the second player in line for receiver drills on Thursday. There’s something to that pecking order, a sort of unspoken hierarchy. So Olszewski’s spot in line speaks to his standing with the team — it’s strong.
That should be a wild thought considering how long his odds were to make the team in 2019. But in 2020, he looks like he belongs.
When compiling the stats for team drills in training camp, Olszewski led receivers in receptions heading into Thursday’s practice after nine workouts, per The Providence Journal’s Mark Daniels. Olszewski is getting heavy work with New England in his second season, a year in which he suddenly seems much more natural and fluid at his new position.
“He’s definitely gotten better,” cornerback Stephon Gilmore said Wednesday on a videoconference all. “I think he’s gotten stronger, gotten quicker. The longer you’re in that offense the better so he has definitely taken a step from last year, competing against him, you know he’s going to go hard every snap. That’s one thing about him, he’s very fearless, he doesn’t care. That’s the way you have to be to be a good receiver in this league.”
And the Patriots certainly wouldn’t mind if that’s what Olszewski turned out to be: a good receiver. New England has a No. 1 receiverm, Julian Edelman, but after him, they’ve got nothing but uncertainties. The presumption has been that Mohamed Sanu would step up after a rough year in 2019, likely a product of his ankle injury, which required surgery this offseason. Meanwhile, 2019 first-round pick N’Keal Harry looked like a candidate to take a major leap after a quiet rookie year. So far, Sanu has underwhelmed while Harry is finally building a case to win a starting job.
All the while, Olszewski is quietly pushing himself in to the conversation to be on the field with the starting offense in Week 1. Olszewski still has his weaknesses. He excels at horizontal routes, but when challenging cornerbacks on stop-routes and button hooks, Olszewski has a tendency to get beat with the defensive back logging a pass breakup. But the 6-foot, 190-pound receiver is building out his skillset quickly for a guy who’d never played receiver until getting to the NFL.
“Last year, I didn’t know much about Gunner,” Sanu said Wednesday. “I did learn a lot throughout the season and this offseason I’ve learned about him. He’s a great kid who works his tail off. Very hard-working kid, always willing to learn, always trying to get himself better in any way possible. And he’s fun to be around. Very explosive, and it’s very deceptive how explosive he is. So it’s, I’m excited to see what he gets done this year.”
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