Kayshon Boutte has a Patriots Hall of Famer in his corner as he begins his NFL career.
In an interview with the Boston Herald's Karen Guregian, former New England running back Kevin Faulk disputed reports that Boutte's "coachability" was an issue for the rookie wide receiver during his time at LSU.
Faulk dismissed those concerns as "crazy," per Guregian.
"All I can tell you is I don't know where that came from," Faulk said. "Because when I was with that kid, he was very coachable. When you say a kid's not coachable, that means a coach can't relate to who the kid is as a player. That's all that is to me."
Faulk, an LSU alum, was the Tigers' running backs coach for Boutte's first two collegiate seasons. Boutte flashed elite potential during that period, earning Freshman All-American honors in 2020 and then posting a 38-509-9 receiving line in just six games in 2021 before a broken ankle ended his sophomore campaign.
Boutte returned from that injury to play in 11 of LSU's 13 games last season, but his production plummeted amid reported clashes with a new coaching staff helmed by Brian Kelly. Faulk was not retained following Kelly's hiring and spent the 2022 season working for the New York Giants, though he remained connected to LSU as the program's director of alumni relations and community outreach.
"You don't know what happens to a guy when an injury happens," Faulk told Guregian. "You've got to have a strong mental capacity to be able to withstand it and move through it."
Boutte finished last season with just 48 catches for 538 yards and two touchdowns, then turned in a lackluster workout at the NFL Scouting Combine. Those factors combined to tank his draft stock, turning the 21-year-old from a projected first-round prospect a year ago to one who still was available when the Patriots selected him in the sixth round (No. 187 overall) last weekend.
Given that lowly draft slot, Boutte will not be a lock to make New England's 53-man roster. But he's one of the most intriguing members of the Patriots' 12-player draft class and has legitimate star potential if he can buy into Bill Belichick's demanding program and recapture the form Faulk witnessed in Baton Rouge.
"I want everyone to know that I am a hard worker and that I'm going to give 100%," Boutte said in his introductory conference call. "I feel like I have been doubted a lot, I feel like it's time for me to prove that I'm not that same person."
Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer also reported last week that Kelly, who has a relationship with Bill Belichick, gave the Patriots "positive feedback" on Boutte before they selected him.
Boutte was the first Patriots draftee to agree to terms on his rookie contract, reportedly doing so last Thursday on a four-year deal worth just over $4 million. He'll compete for reps this spring and summer in a Patriots receiving corps that features JuJu Smith-Schuster, DeVante Parker, Kendrick Bourne, Tyquan Thornton, Lynn Bowden, Tre Nixon and fellow sixth-round pick Demario Douglas.
