Texans' C.J. Stroud reveals what it was really like having Patriots' Stefon Diggs as a teammate

Current New England Patriots wide receiver Stefon Diggs appeared in just eight regular-season games for the Houston Texans during the 2024 campaign before he went down with a torn ACL.

Diggs and Houston quarterback C.J. Stroud will now be opponents when the Patriots host the Texans for a divisional-round playoff matchup this coming Sunday. While speaking with reporters on Wednesday, Stroud opened up about what it was like to share a locker room with Diggs for a brief period of time. 

Stefon Diggs has been "amazing" to C.J. Stroud both on and off the field

"Stef is one of the best teammates I’ve had in my career, in my life," Stroud said, per Chris Mason of MassLive. "He’s been amazing to my life, not just on the field but off as well. I think he’s super teammate-oriented. He wants to be around the guys, he wants to do stuff for the guys, he wants to be one of the captains in the room." 

Diggs hasn't always had a reputation for being the best teammate. Specifically, questions about his relationship with Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen routinely generated headlines from January 2023 up until Buffalo traded Diggs to Houston in the spring of 2024. By all accounts, Diggs was a positive in the Texans locker room before his injury. Stroud seemed to confirm that was the case. 

"He’s one of the best teammates I’ve ever had," Stroud continued during his comments about Diggs. "He’s brought that swag there, and he’s got the guys rolling around him. Will always be a brother of mine, will always be a friend. I’m just excited to see his career go where it’s gone. For him to get paid like he did is dope to see. I think he’s got a lot of great ball ahead of him." 

Stefon Diggs now known as a "quarterback-friendly" target?

Diggs has happily embraced a team-first mentality as part of a Patriots side that went 15-3 from Week 1 of this season through the wild-card round of the playoffs. DeMeco Ryans was Diggs' head coach with the Texans last season and isn't surprised that the 32-year-old is flourishing with New England. 

"Stef has done a great job there in New England, making some plays for them," Ryans added. "Being very quarterback-friendly, which Stef has done his entire career. Running a lot of option-choice routes. He’s very explosive after he catches the football. So, another guy we got to make sure we have eyes on, and make sure we’re doing a great job of tackling and covering him really well."

As of Thursday afternoon, DraftKings Sportsbook had Diggs' Patriots as three-point favorites over Stroud's Texans.