(Photo: Bangor Daily News)
Stefon Diggs fell to the Minnesota Vikings in the fifth round of the 2015 NFL Draft. But as I always say, it doesn’t matter what school you come from or what round you’re drafted in. Get yourself in the door and let your play do the talking. His most memorable play as a Viking came in the divisional round of the playoffs in 2018 on a play now known as the “Minneapolis Miracle”. In March 2020, the Vikings shockingly traded Stefon to the Buffalo Bills where he paired up with Josh Allen for a total of four seasons and they became one of the best Quarterback/Wide Receiver tandems in the league. Last April, the Bills traded him to the Houston Texans and in his first year with the team, he unfortunately tore his ACL and missed the rest of the season. This year, the veteran receiver will be returning to the AFC East, this time as a member of the New England Patriots.
I still think he’s one of the best Wide Receivers in the league when he has his head in the game and the mentality with him is simple: Get him the football, move out of the way and watch him handle the rest. As a Wide Receiver, who wouldn’t want the football? Stefon wants the ball at all times, and his play making can spark an entire offense Let’s dive into his route running for a second because you can’t mention elite route running without bringing his name into the conversation. I said this last year and I will say it here once again, Stefon is what I call a “three-level route runner” meaning he can run the short, intermediate and deep routes very consistently and has a way of completely fooling the Defensive Back meaning he will break off the snap of the football, make the defender think he’s going one way and he’s headed in the opposite direction. I’ve always said Stefon is a crafty route runner and knows how to operate in space to get open, plus, I’ve seen him make his share of Defensive Backs look silly. On running those deep routes down the field, Stefon has such an ability to track the football and quite honestly, it’s second to none. If he’s down the field and you throw the ball up in his direction, there’s a great chance he’s going to come away with it. It’s his competitive drive mixed with his desire to make a difference that has always stood out to me.
The 2025 season will mark the third team he’s been on in three seasons. One thing I can say about the Patriots is they’ve been active this off-season with how they’ve retooled their defense and spent the money to improve it. For years, I’ve been saying that in order for your Quarterback to succeed, you must put him in the right position to succeed and add pieces around him and the Patriots did just that with this signing. Drake Maye finally has his number one receiving option and I can’t wait to see how this will all pan out.
