The Patriots made a major addition to the offense by signing four-time Pro Bowl WR Stefon Diggs.

Before we discuss Diggs's impact on the Patriots offense, it must be said that the 31-year-old star receiver tore his ACL playing for the Texans last October. New England reportedly hosted Diggs on a free agent visit earlier this month, partially so the team could check in with Diggs on his rehab. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Diggs is on track to return for Week 1 of the upcoming season, which is great news for the Patriots and their new star receiver.

Although there's optimism that Diggs could be ready for the regular-season opener, it's fair to wonder how he'll bounce back from a significant knee injury. That said, Diggs is the most significant wide receiver addition the Patriots have made in years. Last season, the former Texans and Bills wideout was on pace for his seventh consecutive 1,000-yard season with 47 catches for 496 yards and three touchdowns through eight games.

Diggs also ranked second among 116 qualified receivers in ESPN's receiver score metric. It'll also be music to Patriots fans' ears that Diggs ranked seventh among qualified wideouts in the rate of targets he was deemed "open" by player tracking data. The veteran receiver was still a productive pass-catcher before his season-ending injury in 2024. As we know from his time in Buffalo, Diggs is one of the NFL's premier route-runners, with the technical refinement and burst in his routes to create separation.

The interesting discussion is how offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels will deploy Diggs in the Patriots offense. Diggs played more of a "chain-mover" role in Houston, with the second-most first-down conversions in the first eight weeks of the 2024 season (31). As a result, Diggs posted a career-low 8.3 air yards per target in 2024, and he only faced press coverage on 13 percent of his routes. According to NextGen Stats, Diggs' most targeted routes were hitches (15), outs (14), and digs/crossers (nine) during his one season in Houston, speaking to his shorter target depths.

Diggs was used slightly differently by Houston than by Buffalo. However, he was still highly productive and fits McDaniels's offense well. McDaniels has always had success with high-volume inside receivers. Diggs could fit into an "engine of the offense" role, while his tape suggests he can still play outside.

Outside Receiver Reps

Last offseason, EVP of Player Personnel Eliot Wolf spoke about needing a coverage-dicating receiver who could "beat the backside coverage in a 3x1 formation."

Here's a visual representation of what the Pats personnel chief means. Above, Diggs is the lone receiver to Texans QB C.J. Stroud's left with three receivers to the quarterback's right, and Diggs goes to work against press-man coverage on the backside of a 3x1 formation. After using a stretch release to get off the line of scrimmage, Diggs clears the defender before breaking on the corner route to put the defender in a trail position, finishing with a toe-tapping grab along the sideline – clinical.

To further illustrate this point, here's another example. Diggs is matched up in the red zone against Patriots All-Pro CB Christian Gonzalez. With the Texans running a two-man route concept, the Pats deep safety (Marte Mapu) opens to Texans WR Tank Dell, leaving Gonzo one-on-one against Diggs. By widening his stem toward the sideline, Diggs gets Gonzalez to open up the inside track, then steps on the Pats CB's toes through the break to cross Gonzalez's face for the touchdown.

Diggs checks the box that Wolf referred to last April by consistently defeating backside coverage.

Slot Receiver Reps

Along with beating single coverage playing on the outside, the Texans had Diggs run routes from inside the formation.

In 2024, roughly 46 percent of Diggs's route came out of the slot, up from 35.7% in his final season with the Bills. By using him as a slot receiver, Houston gave the savvy route-runner opportunities for leverage wins and to break into space vs. zone coverage. Leverage refers to the body positioning of the cornerback. For example, if the corner is sitting inside the receiver, it stands to reason that the receiver would break out.

In this example, the Texans put Diggs in motion, with Gonzalez shadowing him in man coverage. The motion tips the Patriots hand to Houston, signaling to the offense that the defense is in man-to-man while giving Diggs and Stroud an idea of how Gonzo will play the route. Again, the deep safety tilts toward the other side of the field, leaving Gonzalez in single coverage, and Diggs breaks into the open space away from Gonzo's leverage for a third-down conversion.

Diggs also had stationary slot reps where the Texans allowed him to hunt for voids in zone coverages. Above, the Colts defense plays quarters coverage with four defenders across the deep part of the field. Diggs sees that he has a linebacker sitting inside of him in the short zone distribution. With the outside vertical clearing out the sideline, Diggs breaks into the open area along the sideline to move the chains.

The other advantage of playing Diggs out of the slot is that he could get favorable matchups away from top corners. For instance, Diggs lines up in the slot vs. his former team above. Buffalo ends up adding a rusher on a blitz while playing a single-high man coverage scheme in the backend. That gets Diggs one-on-one vs. Bills CB Ja'Marcus Ingram, and Diggs makes a great sliding catch for another third-down conversion.

Bottom Line

Since taking over as the Patriots top personnel executive, Wolf has pursued several big-name receivers on the veteran market.

Diggs ends a two-year pursuit of a big-name star receiver for New England. Although the 31-year-old is coming off a significant knee injury, the updates on Diggs's rehab are positive. When healthy, Diggs is a prolific receiver as a route-running savant who can be a quarterback's best friend on short and intermediate routes. Just ask Josh Allen, who went from a promising youngster to a perennial All-Pro when Diggs arrived in 2020.

Along with making life easier on Maye, Diggs, a versatile technician who can win on routes from anywhere, is an intriguing fit with McDaniels. McDaniels is known for formationing defenses to death by getting his best skill players into favorable matchups and creating easy wins for receivers. The Pats OC now has a chess piece that he can move around the board to let Diggs thrive, while Diggs, at the peak of his powers, fits the "Tuesday player" description we've discussed.

A Tuesday player means defenses must strategize to take Diggs out of the game in their game-planning meetings during the week. Diggs has the talent to break through that coverage plan, while it also has a trickle-down effect by making it easier for the Pats other pass-catchers to succeed. For example, suppose Diggs is drawing the opponent's No. 1 corner. In that case, his teammates will face corners further down the depth chart. It can also benefit those around Diggs if he starts drawing extra attention, which could open space for others.

Although the possibilities with Diggs in the fold are exciting, we have to keep in perspective that Diggs is entering his age 32 season after sustaining a torn ACL. It could take the veteran wideout some time to get his burst back, while Diggs might not have the top gear he once did to stretch the field vertically. Still, the role he played in Houston as a chain-mover will fit in well with the Patriots.

From this perspective, the Patriots should still be in the market for a wide receiver in the draft to continue probing for a younger running mate to pair with Diggs. New England's offense also has a major hole at left tackle, with both those positions squarely in play at No. 4 overall in April's draft. If they can shore up the offensive line and add another high-ceiling receiver, the Pats will be in good shape going into Maye's second season.

New England wanted to make a splash in the veteran receiver market to give the offense a proven commodity. In Diggs, the Patriots have a weapon that immediately improves the offense.

DISCLAIMER: The views and thoughts expressed in this article are those of the writer and don't necessarily reflect those of the organization. Read Full Disclaimer