Patriots Fans Won't Love Bleak Projections for Top FA Signing

The New England Patriots were able to land one of the biggest names on the wide receiver market this offseason, signing Stefon Diggs to a three-year contract.

Diggs remained available for quite some time in free agency due to the fact that he is recovering from a torn ACL he suffered midway through the 2024 campaign with the Houston Texans, which has obviously placed his NFL future in question.

Had Diggs been younger, it wouldn't be as much of an issue, but he is 31 years old and was already showing signs of decline before the injury, so there is reason to be cynical.

Apparently, ESPN's Mike Clay is a skeptic, as he did not exactly give Diggs a whole lot of love in his projections for the 2025 NFL season.

Not only does Clay have Diggs missing four games (perhaps due to his ACL recovery not going particularly well), but he is predicting the four-time Pro Bowler to catch 70 passes for just 768 yards and three touchdowns, which is surely not what Patriots fans are hoping for from their top offensive addition.

Now, to be fair, Diggs was never all that explosive. He owns a lifetime average of 12.2 yards per catch, and he crossed the 13-yards-per-catch mark just once during his four Pro Bowl campaigns with the Buffalo Bills. However, New England definitely wants more production from the University of Maryland product than what Clay is anticipating.

It might be unfair to expect Diggs to post 1,000 yards, but most are probably hoping that he will at least hit the 900-yard mark and will be able to play in more than 13 games to boot.

The Pats are putting a whole lot of faith in Diggs going into next season, so we'll see if the veteran is able to deliver.