By now you’ve likely heard that the New England Patriots are bringing in veteran WR Stefon Diggs on a 3 year, $69M deal. However, the question now shifts to how much the signing moves the needle for a Pats offence which struggled to move the ball in 2024.
First the good news. Any addition to the offence will be a welcome one in Foxborough following a season in which the team ranked 2nd to last in the NFL in yards per game at 291.9. As bad as that figure was, it was actually better than their passing yards per game which was dead last in the league at a paltry 176.1 yard per contest.
While today’s Diggs is a far cry from the 2020 version of him where he hauled in 127 passes for 1,535 yards and 8 TDs, he nevertheless represents a sizeable upgrade from the pass catchers the Patriots deployed in 2024.
New England failed to produce a single 700 yard receiver last year, as tight end Hunter Henry led the team with 674 yards on 66 receptions. The most productive WR was DeMario Douglas who also made 66 catches, but for 621 yards and 3 TDs. Not exactly the type of results that are going to be turning heads anytime soon.
Now, much of that can be blamed on the previous coaching regime which was swept out the second that Mike Vrabel became an option. However, the fact remains that behind Diggs, who instantly becomes the team’s WR1, there isn’t a ton of up and coming talent ready to soak up a higher volume of targets.
Even with an injury shortened season in which he failed to top 500 receiving yards for the first time in his career, Diggs would have ranked as New England’s 4th most productive pass catcher with 496 yards, in half the amount of games (8).
While a $23M AAV price tag may seem high, the market for wide receivers wasn’t exactly overflowing unless the front office was willing to swing a trade. And even after the signing, New England still has the most cap space remaining ($77.2M per Over the Cap) heading into the draft. So it’s not like bringing in Diggs came at the expense of needing to release another player somewhere else to make the money work.
Undoubtedly, 2nd year QB Drake Maye will benefit from having a proven veteran in Diggs join the locker room, and essentially serve as a safety blanket for the former UNC product. But the $69 million dollar question now shifts to how much separation a 31 year old wideout coming off the most significant injury of his pro career can still create. Especially when opposing defences know there isn’t a ton of other down field threats lurking in the wings.
Which is why New England’s pick at number 4 in a few weeks time will be amongst the most interesting selections on draft night. There’s a very real scenario in which 2 of the top 3 picks are quarterbacks, one of the few positions that New England doesn’t need to address at the draft.
That leaves a bevy of options for Eliot Wolf & Co. to mull over as the calendar flips to April.
Behind door number 1 is the simple “take the best player available” approach, regardless of what position it is. The Patriots have needs on both sides of the football and can’t afford to whiff on a top 5 pick like this if they want to get out of the AFC East basement anytime soon.
That could net them a talent like Mason Graham out of Michigan, or Abdul Carter out of Penn State, both of which would add some much needed talent to their front seven.
Then there’s the potential to solve 2 problems at once, by selecting reigning Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter. Whether the team is confident that he could play on both sides of the ball at the NFL level is something that varies depending on who you ask. But the fact remains that if ever there was a team who could at least take that theory out for a test drive in 2025, it would be the Patriots.
Finally, and this is where the Diggs signing could be a force multiplier, the team could focus on putting their sophomore QB in the best position to succeed. Whether that’s in addressing their offensive line woes (the team ranked 31st in the league in pass block win rate at 50.9%, while also giving up the 5th most sacks) by selecting a player such as Armand Membou out of Missouri, or Will Campbell out of LSU, or simply adding another weapon for Maye to target downfield.
That could come in the form of Tetairoa McMillan out of Arizona, Matthew Golden out of Texas, or in perhaps the most “un-Patriot like” decision of them all, shocking the world and taking Ashton Jeanty out of Boise State. While the latter might be a fun pick, it’s also the least likely to happen given Rhamondre Stevenson’s contract extension. But who knows, maybe Mike Vrabel is banging the table to get his Derrick Henry 2.0 in New England.
Whatever the outcome, selecting an offensive lineman to give Maye additional time in the pocket, or a McMillan type to offer a genuine WR2 option, who has a chance to elevate to WR1 status by the end of the year would instantly make the Diggs signing a much more impactful one.
While selecting a defensive player will likely yield results down the line, if the Pats aren’t able to hit on someone on the offensive side of things in rounds 1 through 3 (4th overall, 38th overall, 69th overall, and 77th overall), then it’s hard to see the offence taking much of a step forward in 2025, even if Diggs is able to return to full health.
-Kyle Skinner
Twitter: @JKyleSkinner
Photo: Keith Allison. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.