FOXBOROUGH – Many rookies in the NFL aren’t used to playing in games of high magnitude in December.

Sure, guys were getting ready for a bowl game or in some instances the College Football Playoff, but the grind of the NFL is much different. Games in December with division championships on the line or playoff clinching scenarios involved are a little more meaningful than the Pop Tarts Bowl or the Pinstripe Bowl.

The Patriots rookie class has a mix of guys used to playing this late and some that haven’t.

The class has also had a pretty big impact on the success of the team, particularly on offense. You always hear about ‘the wall’ that rookies hit this time of year, especially as their bodies start to break down a bit more. So, as Kyle Williams sat at his locker on Thursday, I asked him if it’s a real thing. Does he feel like he’s ‘hit a wall’?

“Oh yeah,” he said with a laugh. When I followed up asking how he knew when it happened, his response was that one any non-athlete would give once you’re 35 and older.

“You just wake up…you know, sometimes it’s easy to get out the bed. Some days, you just sit on the edge and (takes a deep breath) ‘here we go.’ So, that’s how I knew I hit it,” Williams added with a grin. “I used to get up out the bed easy. Now, I think it was like two days in a row where I was like ‘ohhh weee.

“I think the coaches brought it up early (in the season), but you more hear players talk about it. You for sure go to veterans and ask them for any advice or any tips. We’ve been playing football since…we haven’t stopped so far. So, they always say ‘create a routine,’ that really helps you get through the rookie wall.”

Jared Wilson is one of the more important guys up front suddenly – particularly with Will Campbell going down for the last few weeks – so, I asked him as well.

But, before giving his real answer, Wilson had a little chirping for Garrett Bradbury a couple lockers down.

“You more hear about it from the vets…,” he said looking over at the Patriots veteran center.

Bradbury quickly interrupted when he heard I had asked Wilson about ‘the wall.’

“He hasn’t gotten through it yet,” Bradbury said while looking at Wilson. “He can’t really speak on it.”

Wilson fired back.

“You know, now that I mention it, I think Garrett hit the wall today,” he said with a sly look. “I saw something. He came walking in, I was like hmmm…”

Bradbury shot right back.

“You know, a characteristic of a young rookie hitting the wall is deflecting blame…”

Wilson cracked up laughing, then addressed the original question.

“Nah, but in all seriousness, I think amongst the players it is (talked about), but I don’t think the coaches really do,” said Wilson. “Like, obviously it’s a long season. Every game is not (like college), where you’ve got one of the top teams, one of the lower teams that are just coming to play and get some money, stuff like that. It’s the NFL. Everybody’s good. There’s no bad players in this league. Everybody has the respect because they are here and playing in this league. You’ve got to come with it every game.”

Wilson also doesn’t believe he’s hit any wall yet.

“It’s what, like Week 16, something like that? I’m alright. I think it’s a mental thing,” he added. “Get up every day, try to get better. Focus on something you want to try and get better at and if you feel like you got better at it that day, you set yourself up a goal and you hit it. You set yourself a goal for the next day and just keep on going.”

More than anyone, it’d be understandable if TreVeyon Henderson was about to hit a rookie wall given the impact he’s had. Henderson has shown plenty of reasons why the Patriots took him as high as they did in this year’s NFL Draft.

But, he’s also used to playing big games this time of year while winning a national title with the Buckeyes.

“Not really. The coaches haven’t talked to us about it yet, but I’m pretty sure it’s something that will come up. It probably will,” Henderson said when asked specifically if it’s come up in meetings or he thinks it will.

“You think about (taking care of your body), for sure. I feel like this last season at Ohio State, just having that longer season is definitely something that prepared me for this year.”