Addition Of Diggs Gives Patriots New Life in 2025

Diggs’ Presence Alone is Significant

The best part now is that adding Diggs gives them a player who further stresses a defense.  Diggs can line up anywhere, and he’s extremely explosive, forcing teams to have to account for him.

It’s been some time since the Patriots had someone like that on offense, which will likely provide some terrific opportunities to the players around him.  Based on how we saw Bill Belichick handle him defensively in 2023, Diggs had a tough time, but it was an example of how other guys can take advantage with the attention he’s getting.

In the Patriots’ first match-up against Buffalo in 2023, Josh Allen targeted Diggs 12 times but completed just six passes for 58 yards and a touchdown.  However, it ended up being Dalton Kincaid who the Bills turned to after he caught 8 passes on all 8 targets for 75 yards.

In their second meeting, the Patriots again held Diggs to just 4 receptions for 26 yards on 7 targets, but Kincaid again finished with 4 receptions for 87 yards, and wideout Khalil Shakir caught 4 passes for 39 yards.

As a result, the Patriots will likely see coverages that end up putting an emphasis on him, but it could open things up for someone like Demario Douglas and others to become even more productive.  Douglas quietly finished 2024 with 66 catches and 621 yards receiving, along with three touchdowns.

New England also got a lot of production out of their tight ends last season, and if Diggs is getting a lot of attention down the field on the perimeter, both tight ends Hunter Henry (66 catches, 674 yards, 2 TDs) and Austin Hooper (45 catches, 476 yards, 3 TDs) could also see similar success in 2025 if McDaniels starts drawing up plays in the middle of the field.

Another area Diggs will likely help with should be down in the red zone.  That was an area where the club struggled last season, with Maye completing just 20-of-39 (51.3%) with 9 touchdowns and two interceptions.  Diggs caught five passes, including three touchdowns down in the red area last season before he got hurt, and had 10 receptions and six touchdowns in scoring territory in 2023.  He now potentially gives the Patriots the scoring threat they were lacking in 2024.

How Will Diggs Fit In Here?

The tough part might end up being how their offense looks this season. Mike Vrabel has said repeatedly there will be an emphasis on this being a tough team when it comes to running the football, which might reduce the number of opportunities for Diggs compared to his previous roles.

However, one thing that The MMQB’s Albert Breer pointed out on Tuesday night was the fact that in Houston, Diggs wasn’t the lead guy yet he seemed to embrace his place in a group that featured Nico Collins and also Tank Dell, who Houston also lost to injury last season.  Collins caught 68 passes for 1,006 yards and 7 touchdowns last season, while Dell had 51 receptions for 667 yards and 3 touchdowns before he got hurt.

That put Diggs in a situation where he didn’t have to carry the team, and even despite that, he still had 47 receptions for 496 yards and three touchdowns, which had him on pace for what would have potentially been his seventh-straight 1,000 yard season.

Last season, Collins suffered a hamstring injury in Week 5 and missed the Texans’ matchup the following week against New England.  In that game, Diggs and Tank Dell both had big performances, with Diggs catching six passes on seven targets for 77 yards and a touchdown, while Dell caught seven passes on nine targets for 57 yards and a touchdown in a 41-21 blowout October loss at Gillette Stadium.

With Collins, he’s clearly a special player and the Patriots don’t yet have that type of player in their locker room.  So the next question is how Diggs might react if he’s going multiple plays before seeing the ball, knowing he’s the best player on the roster.

“I think part of the problem with Diggs over the years has been he cares deeply about winning and he, for a long, long time, believed the best way for my team to win is to get me the ball,” said Breer during an appearance on NBC Sports Boston’s Arbella Early Edition following the news of Diggs’ signing in New England Tuesday night.  “So what would happen with Kirk Cousins, with Josh Allen, is you get three plays, four plays, he hasn’t seen the ball, are you starting to look over there? Is he starting to wear on you?  Is he starting to wear on you on the sideline?”

“Last year, that wasn’t a problem in Houston. The difference in Houston is that he had Nico Collins in the room with him. My understanding is he recognized very quickly, ‘This is a special young talent that I’m playing with. I have no problem playing a complementary role because I know what Nico Collins is.’ He was also really good with his quarterback in part because of that.”

“Coming into a receiver room that last year was deficient, is he going to be willing to take that team-first approach and subjugate his ego? I think that’s an open question because you don’t have a Nico Collins in the room with him right now.”

Patriots Close to Being Playoff Worthy

It’s not often you see a signing be as impactful as this one is, and the result could see the Patriots potentially playing football later into January next season.

Adding Diggs might help them flip games they couldn’t win in 2024.  The one-score losses they suffered last season might go the other way this time around, especially considering how productive they were with what little they had last year.

The biggest remaining domino is going to be solving their problem at left tackle.  One thing we saw repeatedly last season was the fact that with more protection, there were plenty of plays Maye left on the field and there were certainly more he likely could have made had he had more time.

The addition of Morgan Moses gives them a potential starter on the right side at tackle, providing a significant upgrade over Demontrey Jacobs.  Jacobs struggled considerably last season, tying left tackle Vederian Lowe for the team lead in offensive penalties in 2024.

However, if the club can solidify the left side of the line, they’ll head into 2025 with a completely different outlook compared to what we saw last year.  The offensive line was brutal during the first quarter of the season, with Jacoby Brissett sustaining a significant beating as the club struggled to find continuity up front.

With an improved group, the Patriots should have an easier time getting back to establishing the run while giving Maye room to work.  As we saw, when Maye had time last season, the former UNC standout has the physical skills to make plays, and the team is certainly better off seeing him having to take off and run a little less this year, especially having sustained two concussions during his rookie season.

But after Buffalo sustained a couple of roster losses and Miami’s outlook also being questionable, the door is open for the Patriots to get back into contending for the AFC East.  For a team that’s only won a total of eight games the last two years, becoming a 9-10 win team no longer feels as far away as it once did.

It’s amazing to see what a difference a year might make.  But with the draft still to come and other potential opportunities that might still be there, the good news is, they’re likely still not done.