How Malik Cunningham Is Helping Patriots’ Rookie Receivers

Malik Cunningham has taken on a variety of roles in his first New England Patriots summer:

Wide receiver. Quarterback. Punt gunner. Occasional kick returner.

Cunningham’s position coach revealed another Friday: mentor.

Ross Douglas, who coaches New England’s wideouts alongside Troy Brown, said the undrafted free agent has helped guide fellow rookie receivers Demario Douglas and Kayshon Boutte as all three prepare for their first NFL season.

“The good thing about Malik is he loves football and he really cares about being good,” Douglas said Friday in a video conference. “That’s the first thing about him. So everything from there really takes care of itself.

“He’s even taken Demario and Kayshon under his wing. They’ll walk through the plays, they’ll go in our virtual room back in Foxboro and just really try to get a bead on the next day’s install and really just try to perfect their craft.”

That kind of leadership position is nothing new for Cunningham, who started 47 games at QB during his college career at Louisville. At 24, he’s also three years older than Boutte and two years older than Douglas (and just a month younger than New England’s starting quarterback, Mac Jones).

“Malik, he’s very mature,” Douglas said. “He’s a professional already as a rookie, and he takes his craft very seriously. That’s why he’s able to juggle both the quarterback and the receiver position. It’s not perfect, but the want-to and the intentions are there.”

Cunningham’s on-field role has evolved over the course of the summer. After working almost exclusively as a receiver for the first two weeks of training camp, he began seeing competitive reps at quarterback during the leadup to the Patriots’ first preseason game and continued to do so this week.

Last Thursday against the Houston Texans, Cunningham played 10 snaps at receiver and 17 at QB, leading New England’s lone touchdown drive in a 22-9 loss. He completed 3 of 4 passes for 19 yards — with his lone incompletion bouncing off Tre Nixon’s hands in the end zone — and rushed five times for 34 yards and a 9-yard score.

Cunningham isn’t close to challenging Jones for the starting job and still has a ways to go in his development as a pass-catcher. But if he makes the 53-man roster, he could provide value as a rushing-focused, change-of-pace quarterback who also can contribute on gadget plays and in the kicking game.

“He’s made a lot of progress,” Douglas said. “We still have a long way to go, but just seeing the difference from what it was back in May and June to what it is now is significantly better. We still have a long way to go, but he’s definitely making progress.”