Wes Welker in the midst of a 20-yard pass play in the third quarter. Welker had seven catches for 79 yards.

Journal photo / Mary Murphy

FOXBORO -- Every day that Wes Welker puts on his New England Patriots uniform, he is proving somebody wrong.

All his life he was told that he was too small to play football, but that didn't stop him from earning the Oklahoma Player of the Year award in high school while playing for Heritage Hall High School in Oklahoma City.

He wasn't looked at by very many Division I colleges because of his height, but Welker eventually landed at Texas Tech, where he set a new NCAA career record for punt return yards (1,761) and punt return touchdowns (8), and an NCAA single-season record for number of returns (57 in 2002).

The 5-foot-9, 185-pound Welker was passed over by a lot of NFL teams that thought he was too small and two slow, but in his short time with the Patriots, he has everyone re-evaluating their perception of who can succeed in the NFL and who can't.

Going from a little-known, undrafted receiver who drifted from San Diego to Miami, to becoming a star receiver for New England, Welker became just the fourth player in NFL history to catch at least six passes in each of his first seven games of a season. Welker on Sunday caught seven passes for 79 yards to help New England defeat St. Louis, 23-16.

That adds to the list of Welker's accomplishments in the NFL.

Last season he recorded the most receptions by a player in his first season with a new team, with 112 catches. He tied Cincinnati's T.J. Houshmandzadeh for the NFL lead in that category.

When asked earlier this year why the Patriots wanted to sign Welker, Belichick said, "Wes is an outstanding player."

"Playing against us [with the Dolphins], he killed us just about every time we played him. The only way we could handle him was to really double cover him. He also hurt us in the return game. In fact, in one game he even kicked off and kicked field goals against us and killed us there too, when [regular Dolphins kicker Olindo] Mare got hurt in pregame warmups. So I think that just kind of speaks to Wes' competitiveness, versatility, and his total skills set."

Several of Welker's catches Sunday came at important times in the game. His first was on the Patriots' opening drive, on a third down and 8 at New England's 29-yard line. He pulled in a 15-yard pass, then later in the same drive caught a six-yard pass on third and 2 at St. Louis' 48.

Those catches kept New England's opening drive alive. The drive eventually ended in a BenJarvus Green-Ellis touchdown run that put New England ahead, 7-3.

Midway through the second quarter, Welker hauled in another third-down catch, this time for nine yards, when the Patriots needed only five. It kept the chains moving and helped lead to a 30-yard Stephen Gostkowski field goal that tied the game at 10-10 with 1:53 remaining in the half.

In the second half, Welker picked up right where he left off at halftime. On the Patriots' first possession of the third quarter, he corralled a 19-yard pass on a third-and-9 play at New England's own 11-yard line. (The Patriots turned the ball over on the very next play.)

When the Patriots got the ball back, Welker caught a 20-yard pass -- his sixth catch of the game. But he fell down on the next play, and a pass intended for him and was intercepted by Fakhir Brown.

Mike Ditka (1964), Jimmy Smith (2001) and Hines Ward (2004) are the only other players to have at least six catches in their first seven games of the season.

Dating back to last season, Welker has at least six catches in 11 straight games, including the playoffs. Through seven games this season, Welker leads the Patriots with 49 receptions.

He didn't only hurt St. Louis in the passing game on Sunday; he returned three punts for 30 yards.

"He's a tough player," Belichick said. "He's productive on offense catching the ball, running with the ball. He's a productive returner. … He's one of our hardest workers."

roblee@projo.com