K.J. Osborn ready to prove his worth in New England

Osborn signed a one-year deal with New England in free agency.

It took several days into free agency for the New England Patriots to bolster their wide receiver room. That eventually came with the signing of K.J. Osborn, who spent the first four years of his career playing behind some of the top pass catchers in football with the Minnesota Vikings.

Now as he starts on his next football journey in New England, Osborn is out to prove he can be more than just a complementary piece in an offense.

“I’m excited to show the type of player I am, man,” Osborn told reporters via video conference on Wednesday. “I’ve played with some great players and I’m excited to get some more opportunity and be able to really help this team win.”

Osborn has been a steady producer throughout his career, posting a combined 1,800-plus receiving yards and 15 touchdowns over his last three seasons. However, the 26-year old is now ready to take on a larger role if needed.

“At the end of the day it’s wherever the team best needs me to win. And like I said, I’m excited about the opportunity. We’ll see what happens as far as all the details of it,” Osborn said. “I’m a team guy so whatever the team needs me to do to win, whether that’s be number one, or let’s be a leader, play inside, play outside — that’s what I’m here to do.”

Coming from a similar West Coast scheme in Minnesota that offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt projects to establish in New England, Osborn primarily played as an inside Z-receiver. As New England’s roster already features projected inside options such as Kendrick Bourne and DeMario Douglas, Osborn’s versatility may come into play in certain packages.

“I feel like I am a versatile player. Definitely can play inside and outside,” he said. “I would say most of my career I’ve played inside. So, that’s probably where I’m a little bit more comfortable at just by nature of just having a lot of a lot more reps there. But I try to pride myself on being a versatile player.”

Beyond Bourne and Douglas, Osborn joins a room that includes JuJu Smith-Schuster, Tyquan Thornton, Jalen Reagor, Kayshon Boutte, and T.J. Luther. While the unit could still use a true coverage dictator, New England has built quality depth within the room.

“There’s a lot of great players already in the receiver room,” Osborn said. “So, I wanna come in and be another help to those guys, another compliment — there’s some vets in there. At the end of the day just help this team win. But, I’m excited for the opportunity ahead.”