After a breakout preseason, undrafted receiver Efton Chism III had to wait six weeks into the season before he made his NFL debut for the New England Patriots. His moment finally came on Sunday, though Chism didn't run out to catch any passes from Drake Maye in the Patriots' 25-19 win over the Saints in New Orleans.

Chism was mostly featured as a kickoff return man on special teams on Sunday. But the lack of playing time on offense didn't matter to Chism. He was all smiles as he spoke about his NFL debut Monday back in Foxboro.

"It felt great to get out there and get things rolling, anything I can do to help the team," Chism told reporters inside Gillette Stadium. "It was pretty special."

Chism made New England's 53-man roster out of training camp, but he hadn't cracked the game-day roster until Sunday. Even though he wasn't playing on Sundays, he was still playing important roles on New England's scout team leading up to the first five games.

He learned a lot about the NFL game every step of the way, and will continue to do so no matter where he plays (or doesn't play) for the Patriots.

"For me, it's whatever I can do to help the team. Sometimes that's during the week. Maybe it's not on Sundays, but I know I'm helping the team any way I can and learning the ways of some of the guys who have done it before. It's not going to happen overnight, so just stick with the process," he said.

That mentality and Chism's commitment has made him a favorite in the New England locker room. That much was clear as veterans peppered him with "Yeah Chizz" cheers on their way off the field Sunday.

On Monday, Chism credited going up against guys like Christian Gonzalez, Carlton Davis, and Marcus Jones every day in practice for helping him get to this point.

"I'm growing every day. Working on my blocking, route running – whatever I can every day. It's a blessing to go against some of the best guys in the NFL every day, being on the scout team," he said. "Those are invaluable reps that I don't take for granted."

Now that meaningful reps are about to head his way, Chism will be ready. 

Efton Chism's NFL debut

Chism played just two snaps on offense in Sunday's win, and they both came as Maye took a knee in the final minutes to seal the victory. The 5-foot-10, 198-pound product out of Eastern Washington saw more action on special teams, where he logged a dozen snaps for New England.

The rookie returned five kickoffs for the Patriots, and picked up 129 yards on those returns. It's a position he'll look to fill going forward in place of the injured Antonio Gibson, who is out for the season with a torn ACL.

After returning a few punts in the preseason, Chism started to get some run on the Patriots' kickoff return team last week. He has experience with the position from his days of college and high school football.

"It wasn't something totally new to me. I had done it before so it was kind of just go out there and be a ballplayer," said Chism. "Make sure you make good decisions out there and try to get the ball back to the offense."

Chism was given a huge shot of confidence from Patriots special teams coach Jeremy Springer throughout the week.

"It's been awesome, especially early in the week when I found out I'd be doing this as a new role. He was giving me a lot of things to watch to build my confidence in myself," said Chism. "He had total belief in me, he told me a bunch of times this week, which was pretty special."

Chism had an inkling in the middle of the week that he might make the game-day roster against the Saints, but he didn't find out for sure until Friday. 

"I had an idea during the week, but for me it was just, 'keep chipping away, keep chipping away.' Then Friday I really found out. I was just trying to prepare to be a starter every week. That's how I go about it," he said.

Chism's mother was able to make it to the Superdome for his debut, though his father couldn't swing the trip. Instead, he stayed home in Washington and watched it with all his buddies, according to Chism.

Chism and the 4-2 Patriots are on the road against in Week 7, when they pay a visit to the 1-5 Titans in Tennessee.