Kristian Wilkerson Goes From Practice Squad To End Zone As New England Patriots Clinch Playoff Spot

As the 10-6 New England Patriots secured a playoff spot Sunday afternoon at Gillette Stadium, Kristian Wilkerson took the next step toward securing a 53-man roster spot.

An elevation from the practice squad, the wide receiver found himself in the starting lineup for the first time since entering the NFL as an undrafted free agent out of Southeast Missouri State in 2020. And at the 11:43 mark in the opening quarter, he found himself curling back to the football for his first career catch beyond August, when no Patriots player caught more.

More were on the way in what became a 50-10 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars.

“I think I found out Friday or Saturday,” Wilkerson said of the opportunity during his postgame press conference. “I was just ready to go. Just prepared all year for this, so it finally came and hopefully I did what I did. But we got the win. That’s the best thing.”

Wilkerson was targeted by rookie quarterback Mac Jones on eight occasions versus Jacksonville. Those targets became four completions for 42 yards and a pair of touchdowns, including an over-the-shoulder grab on a fade that set out as a fake screen.

A third trip to the end zone nearly arrived deep downfield to begin the final quarter.

“Wilk is a hardworking kid,” Patriots head coach Bill Belichick said afterward. “He normally plays the top — or one of the top — receivers of our opponents for our defense, so he gets targeted a lot in practice. But he’s always ready to go when we’ve had injuries or guys that needed to step in, didn’t practice or that type of thing. He’s stepped in and is always well prepared, knew what to do and has been productive in practice. It was nice to see him get the opportunity today and take advantage of it, cash in and play well.”

Former first-round pick N’Keal Harry was a healthy inactive 90 minutes prior to kickoff. The move sent Wilkerson further up a depth chart featuring fellow former rookie free agents in Gunner Olszewski, Kendrick Bourne as well as Jakobi Meyers, New England’s receiving leader over the past two seasons.

“It was amazing, honestly,” Meyers told reporters of Wilkerson’s Sunday. “Just understanding where he came from, undrafted, guys probably doubting you — you’re just waiting for your moment and working hard every day. He’ll be in here at 6 o’clock every morning, so just seeing him go out there and make plays that we all knew he could make, now everybody gets to see it. I’m really happy for him.”

No. 17 credited No. 16 for taking him under his wing.

“That’s my brother,” Wilkerson said. “He’s the best teammate. He really took me in, really, this summer and just looked out for me, told me what I needed to know. I ask him questions all the time. He’s one of the smartest guys I’ve been around football-wise. I can go on and on and talk about Jakobi, man. He’s a great player, great teammate, great person. I love him.”

While at Southeast Missouri State, Wilkerson rewrote program records with 219 catches for 3,540 yards and 33 touchdowns. From there, he ran the three-cone drill in 6.68 seconds and the 40-yard dash in 4.46 seconds at the Redhawks’ pro day after not receiving an invitation to the NFL Scouting Combine.

A training camp with the Tennessee Titans followed before the 6-foot-1, 214-pound wideout cleared waivers at the 2020 roster deadline.

Wilkerson then joined the practice squad in Foxborough at its formation that September. And again the next September after signing a futures contract. Prior to Sunday, he had served as a standard elevation and a Covid-19 replacement for games against the New York Jets, Carolina Panthers and Buffalo Bills. Those games included nine snaps on offense and 11 snaps on special teams for a route-runner tasked with simulating other route-runners.

“I did the same thing I do at practice every day and every week, so it’s the same thing,” Wilkerson said. “Just trying to get better, really, whoever lines up in front of me or whatever receiver I’m playing if it’s on our offense or the scout team. I just want to be the best receiver our there and do my best, work hard.”

Wilkerson, who turns 25 next week, is scheduled to revert to the practice squad on Monday along with defensive tackle Daniel Ekuale and cornerback D’Angelo Ross. But Sunday could have put the receiver on a different schedule ahead of the season finale at Hard Rock Stadium against the 8-8 Miami Dolphins.

“Working hard is the standard here, pretty much,” added Wilkerson. “If you want to make it or play, you got to work hard, be on top of your game and know what you’re doing out there for the coaches.”