Patriots rookie receiver Olszewski trying to earn a roster spot

FOXBORO — For Gunner Olszewski, this offseason has been a trial by fire.

The rookie, who signed with New England as an undrafted free agent, was a cornerback and return man for Division II Bemidji State. He also played on the Beavers baseball team as a catcher/outfielder.

Now?

He’s trying to play the wide receiver position with the Patriots.

So, it shouldn’t be a surprise that when most of the Patriots went back home after minicamp, [...]

FOXBORO — For Gunner Olszewski, this offseason has been a trial by fire.

The rookie, who signed with New England as an undrafted free agent, was a cornerback and return man for Division II Bemidji State. He also played on the Beavers baseball team as a catcher/outfielder.

Now?

He’s trying to play the wide receiver position with the Patriots.

So, it shouldn’t be a surprise that when most of the Patriots went back home after minicamp, Olszewski remained in Foxboro. The goal, he said, was to learn how to run routes as he worked out with anyone who was around Gillette Stadium.

“Just whoever was around, I’d get work,” Olszewski said. “Some DBs would ask me to run a couple of routes for them, so I’d do that. Some receivers, I would kind of watch them. A bunch of people were out here working hard so I just follow whoever I can. Follow the vets.”

It’s easy to see why the Patriots like Olszewski and his skill set. He plays fast and, for a newcomer to the receiver position, he actually has soft hands. On Day 4 of training camp, quarterback Brian Hoyer ended a full-team 2-minute drill by hitting the rookie receiver for his final three passes, including a touchdown.

Last week, the coaching staff started 1-on-1 drills with receivers matching up with cornerbacks. On Thursday, the rookie made a nice move to get open on Duke Dawson, last year’s second-rounder, to make a catch. Dawson ended up winning the next rep, but these drills are important for Olszewski’s development.

“I’m just trying to do my job — get open. That’s our job now, get open,” Olszewski said. “I try to take what they’re teaching us every day. It’s completely different from playing college. I played DB, but I try to attack DBs the way I used to hate receivers who attacked me in college, so take a little of that. But also just learn to get open. That’s what I try to take from it. These guys are dang good out there, the DBs. I think it’s the best practice we can get is go against our guys.”

Learning how to run routes and catch the ball while in training camp seems like a tough uphill climb for anyone, but Olszewski seems to be handling it fine. He didn’t play receiver in college, but he did return punts and kickoffs and that has helped him as a receiver. When it comes to tracking passes in the air, he said his time as an outfielder has helped.

“It’s the same concept. It’s kind of just keeping your momentum going and not just catching the ball and the play’s over,” Olszewski said. “Think of it like tagging up. When a guy’s tagging up ... and you catch the ball, with your moment moving forward. Same thing with catching a punt, moving forward, catching a kickoff going forward. It’s similar.”

When practice ends, Olszewski’s work doesn’t stop. He stays at Gillette Stadium (or wherever the Pats are) as long as he can. He watches film to see what mistakes he has made and studies the playbook. He aims to fix the error the next day, but then heads back to the film room for another overhaul.

Rinse and repeat. Every day. Olszewski wouldn’t have it any other way.

“That’s our lives right now. It’s our job. I love calling football my job. I treat it as such. It’s all day every day,” Olszewski said. “I can’t ask for nothing more. It’s not college anymore. You don’t have to worry about class or anything like that. It’s just all football. It’s all day. We go in there, lock ourselves inside and we learn and we learn and we learn. There’s so many good guys teaching in there, too. That’s all I do.”