FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The New England Patriots have successfully converted college quarterbacks into wide receivers in the NFL on multiple occasions. There's another player hoping to join that lineage soon.

Malik Cunningham is in the midst of learning how to play wide receiver with the Patriots after playing quarterback at Louisville for the last five seasons. New England certainly has some faith in him as it gave the wide receiver hopeful a contract with $200,000 in guaranteed money when he signed as an undrafted free agent earlier this spring.

As Cunningham appeared to be one of the most intriguing undrafted prospects, there was one thing in particular that drew him to New England: A prior success story of a quarterback transitioning to wide receiver.

“Just the culture and the Julian Edelman stories – the guys that played quarterback in college and moved over to receiver,” Cunningham said following Monday's mandatory minicamp practice. “Seeing those guys do it and I know – not that I’m more athletic than those guys but we’re all on the same level, so I feel like I can do it.”

The Patriots got a look as to how Cunningham would play at wide receiver prior to the draft, with offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien working him out. Despite Cunningham's willingness to play receiver, the Patriots were the only team to work him out at a position other than quarterback in the pre-draft process.

Obviously, the Patriots liked Cunningham enough from what they saw in those workouts to sign him. But wide receiver is still a raw position for him.

“I’ve never ran a route ever in my life,” Cunningham said of the learning process he's in. “It’s definitely different, but the quarterback is still in me so it’s kind of learning as we go. Just trying to get better each and every day, so that’s been the task. Trying to focus on the details at the receiver standpoint – alignment, assignment and knowing what to do.”

Cunningham was arguably one of the most talented quarterbacks in the country in college. He threw for nearly 10,000 yards and 70 touchdowns and added just over 3,000 rushing yards and 50 rushing touchdowns over his five-year college career, with 32 of those rushing touchdowns coming in the last two seasons.

So far, the rookie receiver has gotten a fair amount of playing time in practice with Patriots' wideouts JuJu Smith-Schuster and Tyquan Thornton nursing injuries while DeVante Parker and Kendrick Bourne were in-and-out during voluntary organized team activities.

He's made some notable plays but has also made rookie mistakes as his teammates continue to encourage him, with Mac Jones praising him following Monday's practice.

Even as the transition to receiver has admittedly been tough for him, the story of Edelman continues to inspire Cunningham.

“I’ve heard it once a week – at least,” Cunningham said of Edelman. “Just a guy like him, he played quarterback in college, of course and the success he had at receiver, it just goes to show it can be done.”