How Stefon Diggs plans to be a presence for the Patriots younger offensive players
In addition to providing the New England Patriots with a potential true top receiving weapon, Stefon Diggs also brings experience and leadership to a young offense.
In signing wide receiver Stefon Diggs, the New England Patriots are hoping to get the coverage-dictating ‘No. 1’ wide receiver they’ve been chasing for the past few seasons now. Diggs is working his way back from a torn ACL (he told reporters on Friday he’s “ahead of schedule” with his rehab), but if/when healthy he’d be the most proven player the Patriots have had at the wide receiver position in a few years.
However, that’s not all Diggs can bring to the team. The 31-year-old is entering his 10th NFL season, making him one of the most experienced players on this overhauled Patriots roster – especially on offense.
Diggs’ 144 career games are the most for any skill position player on the team. The only offensive player who has appeared in more NFL games is another free agent signing, tackle Morgan Moses (166 games).
With that experience, Diggs is in position to take on a leadership role with the Patriots. That’s not necessarily new for him, after he was a captain for three seasons with the Buffalo Bills, and then was named one again in his first season with the Houston Texans last year. In fact, on Friday he shared the young roster is part of what sold him on New England.
“Young quarterback, a good team, a lot of pieces being added, everything tracking in the right direction, something that I wanted to be a part of,” Diggs said during his introductory press conference in Foxborough. “I feel like I could be helpful as far as the development with the receivers and everybody involved.”
In Buffalo Diggs was viewed as playing a key role in Josh Allen’s ascension, which coincided up with Diggs’ arrival in 2020. Then last year he found himself one of the veterans on a roster that was highlighted by second-year quarterback C.J. Stroud. Stroud had campaigned earlier this offseason for the Texans to bring Diggs back.
With the Patriots Diggs will get a chance to work with Drake Maye, who is stylistically similar to Allen, and early in his career like Allen was when Diggs got to Buffalo and where Stroud was last year. On Friday, Diggs shared he’s looking forward to the opportunity.
“I’m excited. I really look forward to it,” Diggs replied when asked about getting to work with Maye. “It’s crazy because when you ask around, he has a lot of similarities with people say through the grapevine, he acts a lot like Josh [Allen]. That was my guy, so I look forward to meeting and connecting with him.”
On the field, Diggs views his experience as being something that can help Maye.
“Seeing that I got the experience, I’ve been doing this for ten and a half years…I’ve played with a lot of quarterbacks. I’ve been around a lot of quarterbacks, so learning the quarterback, getting to know him, spending more time with him. Once you know somebody on a more personal level, I feel like it’s a lot of carry-over to the field, whether they’re risk-takers or like to play aggressive, like to play smart, and just honing in on what he’s good at.”
“We played him last year. He shows a lot of fight,” Diggs continued. “He got that fiery quarterback, ‘I want to win’ mindset. That’s something that I get excited about and love to be around. But as far as his development as a quarterback, I feel like that’s not really too much of my job. My job is to get up and catch the ball. I just look forward to getting back out there and being one of the weapons for him.”
Diggs added that he and Maye have already spoken briefly via text as the deal was coming together. “I look forward to getting to know him on a little bit more personal level now that the ink is dry,” Diggs added.
In Houston Diggs was also the veteran in a young wide receiver room with players like Nico Collins, Tank Dell, John Metchie, and Xavier Hutchinson all on rookie contracts. Now with the Patriots, Diggs finds himself in a similar situation. Kendrick Bourne and Mack Hollins are the only other Patriots receivers besides Diggs who have played more than two NFL seasons.
WATCH: Stefon Diggs’ full introductory press conference
When it comes to the receivers, Diggs shared he believes he can best help the younger players learn how to handle the ups and downs that come with playing in the NFL.
“It’s more so the highs and the lows, because everybody wants to have success in this league. Everybody wants to play at a very high level. But I feel like I can help more so with the lows just because I’ve experienced them myself on a personal level,” Diggs shared. “Like, “My first three games in my career, I wasn’t playing at all. It wasn’t until the fourth game when I got my opportunity and then taking advantage of opportunities and learning that sometimes the timing is off.”
“When it’s your time to shine, shine. And if you don’t, you can’t blame nobody but yourself. But I kind of learned that the hard way,” Diggs continued. “To help them with the lows is the biggest thing because everything isn’t going to go your way. Sometimes you got to learn that the hard way. But if you’re doing what you’re supposed to, you’re committed to it, it’ll bounce away.”
“It’s not all about the X’s and O’s, but you’ve got to go out there and make plays, play ball, and be a professional. I think being a pro’s pro, you’ll learn a lot too,” Diggs added. “I feel like I’ve been a pro my whole life – especially when I got in the league – but with the young guys, bringing them along and showing them how to be a professional, how to handle business each and every day, it’ll go a long way.”
Whether its his quarterback or wide receivers, Diggs says his leadership style has evolved over time, and that he knows he can’t take the same approach with every teammate.
“You can’t lead everyone the same. As fiery and as competitive as I am, the ones around you, some people are motivated different,” he said. “Things are never going to be perfect. So, having somebody that always has your back whether it’s good or bad, is something you can appreciate, especially when it’s genuine. So, those around me, I try to push them in the right direction. Even If things aren’t going right for me, you never know what something small could do for somebody else that’s playing well or on the brink of making a play here or there.”
“I think my maturation process comes from more experience, both good and bad, especially the more personal,” he added. “I’ve done a lot of inner work up to this point. I feel like I’m in a great space. And I’m trying to put that to use.”
As he starts to take on a leadership role, Diggs shared an important step will be simply getting to know his new teammates on and off the field. “You spend a lot of time with those guys, and the more you can do – I guess, at the house, kicking it, hanging out – the more you get to know the people you’ll be around, the harder you want to play for them.”
“You’ve got more respect for a man when you know what he’s been through, and some of the trials and stuff that he’s going through,” he said. “You just want to go hard. Like, you appreciate somebody that’s been through something. I don’t know why, I respect a man who’s been through it a little bit in life. Sorry, but if you ain’t been through nothing hard, we can’t relate.”
An early question will be how involved Stefon Diggs is on a day-to-day basis around the facility, before he’s cleared to participate in football activities himself. The Patriots’ offseason program will begin on April 7. No date has been released yet for the start of on-field work and OTAs, but that usually comes after the draft in early to mid-May.
