The Patriots had significant roster turnover this offseason, so as a way to get to know newer additions to the team better, the Herald is running a weekly series asking players a variety of questions to learn about them on and off the field.
First up, we talk to wide receiver K.J. Osborn, who signed a one-year, $4 million contract with the Patriots this offseason after spending four years with the Vikings.
Osborn has started 30 of 59 career games and has caught 158 passes for 1,845 yards with 15 touchdowns over his last three seasons. He’s in the running to start the season as the Patriots’ top “Z” receiver but feels he has the unique versatility to play all three receiving roles in the offense.
BH: What would you be doing if you weren’t a football player?
Osborn: I’m getting my master’s in criminal justice, so I’ve always said I would do like FBI or Secret Service. That’s what I was going towards. Now, it would be more like entrepreneurship or on TV, speaking as a commentator or something like that. Or I’m in some real estate stuff and investment and things like that. So, kind of figuring it out.
BH: Favorite athlete growing up?
Osborn: Reggie Bush.
BH: Favorite movie?
Osborn: Pursuit of Happiness.
BH: Favorite musical artist?
Osborn: It changes, but right now, definitely Rod Wave. I listen to a lot of gospel music too.
BH: Who’s your best friend or best friends on the team?
Osborn: Jalen Reagor and Jacoby Brissett.
BH: Who’s the funniest player on the team?
Osborn: It’s hard. You got Tyquan (Thornton), you got Pop (DeMario Douglas). You got KB (Kendrick Bourne). Then you’ve got any of them three together, and you never stop laughing. But right now, if I had to say, I’d probably say Pop. His locker is right next to mine. He’s going from 6 a.m. until we leave.
BH: What do you like most about the New England region?
Osborn: I’ve heard the fans are really passionate. Obviously, the Celtics won the title. Our season hasn’t started yet, but I hear a lot about how passionate the fans are just in this region, they’re used to winning. I’m excited to see that as the season goes along.
BH: What player across the league do you feel like is the most underrated or underappreciated?
Osborn: I don’t think people know how good Darnell Mooney is from the Atlanta Falcons. When Van Jefferson is going, I don’t think people know how good he is. And a guy that doesn’t get enough credit for how good he is is Kirk Cousins.
BH: Do you have a hidden talent?
Osborn: I’m ambidextrous. I shoot with my left hand. I throw with my right hand. I kick with my left. I golf and bat with my right hand.
BH: First football memory?
Osborn: I was playing for the Michigan Wolverines, that was my second little league team, and they put me at fullback. I wanted to be a running back. They put me at fullback, so I had to have my hand in the dirt. First carry was a touchdown. It was pretty long, probably like 60-something (yards). I had No. 2. I was a little guy back there. I think I was 8-years-old at the time.
BH: Top high school football memory?
Osborn: At IMG (Academy), there was a game we beat the No. 5 team in the country, and I think that that point, we were the No. 1 ranked team in the nation, and probably in the state as well. So I think that was on ESPN. I think we played against Minkah Fitzpatrick’s team from New Jersey. So I think that was pretty cool.
BH: Why did you transfer from Lincoln (Ypsilanti, Mich.) High School to IMG?
Osborn: I was at Ipsy Lincoln in Ypsilanti, Mich. And then a buddy of mine named Jeff Stokes went there for camp, and he came back and he was like, ‘you know, they offered me to come to the school. You should check it out as well.’ So I checked it out. And then I had another buddy, Tyler Mabry, who plays for the Seahawks now, he checked it out. And then we all three went down there.
BH: Top college football memory?
Osborn: I would just say my (University) Buffalo experience. My Buffalo experience was special. I have a really special relationship with all the guys there, and especially my class that I played with.
BH: What makes Buffalo special?
Osborn: It was just my class. We weren’t very good at the beginning. When I first got there, I red-shirted and we went (5-7). Then went 2-10, which was probably like, if you talk about a memory, like, we all remember that season, because after that (two years later) we went 10-4. We were, like, a really good team. There’s a lot of teammates from college, that Buffalo team that are in the NFL, still, probably almost more than my (University of) Miami team, and a lot of them were from my class. We were just really close. We went to Buffalo as a small school compared to the Miamis, whatever. A lot of us didn’t have a lot of offers. We were at Buffalo. We didn’t have no indoor facility. So it was rough, it was cold, we were in the MAC conference. We were grinding. We just all worked so hard. We all wanted to make it into rooms like this (the Patriots locker room). So it made it very special.
BH: Why did you transfer to Miami?
Osborn: My quarterback, Tyree Jackson, went into the draft. I wanted to go into a bigger school to display the skills that I had and to play on a big-time stage.
