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The New England Patriots have seen some great wide receivers walk through their door, but lately, it's been a position of weakness for the team. To find a New England wideout who put up 1,000 yards in the regular season, you have to go back to 2019 when a Patriots great and Super Bowl MVP hit that mark.
Julian Edelman was the last Patriots wide receiver to record over 1,000 yards and average 60 yards per game, doing so with Tom Brady under center. Many quarterbacks have cycled through New England since then, from Cam Newton to Mac Jones to Jacoby Brissett, all struggling to create any sort of production on the offense.
The Patriots now have hope at the quarterback position, thanks to last year's No. 3 overall pick Drake Maye, but his potential was limited due to the lack of support around him on offense. New head coach Mike Vrabel has aimed to change that this offseason, bringing in veteran wide receiver Stefon Diggs as well as luring Josh McDaniels back to call plays for New England's offense.
While Diggs is turning 32 in November and coming off a torn ACL, he is finally a big-name star player the team has needed. If he can stay healthy, Diggs, who has six 1,000-plus yard seasons, may end the five-year streak of no 1,000-yard Patriots receivers.
The player who last hit that mark likes the move made by his former team. On his "Dudes on Dudes" podcast with former Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski, Edelman said he thinks the four-time Pro Bowler will bring a much-needed energy to the locker room.
"I like Stefon Diggs in New England, that situation because Stefon Diggs is still pissed off at the Bills," Edelman said. "So, there's going to be hunger, and there's going to be urgency, and there's going to be a fire under his ass in the meeting room when he's in New England at practice, which they could use. They could use a little fire under their ass in that receiver room."
Diggs does have some minor blemishes in an otherwise great NFL career after past rumored drama between him and the Buffalo Bills, including missed practices and sideline outbursts, but Edelman brushed off any concerns.
"No one ever second-guesses how hard he works and the amount of work that he puts into his craft," Edelmen said. "So, if you're getting a motivated Stefon Diggs, that could be really beneficial to the young football players in that young football room that they call the receiver room in New England."
Diggs has the experience many of the young players on the team don't possess, and the veteran presence is something Edelman believes the entire team can benefit from.
"They have a lot of young football players there," he said. "It'd be really good for these younger guys to be able to see how a professional works daily. How a professional prepares daily. How a professional takes care of his body. And if Stefon Diggs is doing that, you gotta bring him in. Because they need a little veteran leadership in that room."
Diggs was a fifth-round draft pick in 2015, taken by the Minnesota Vikings, where he stayed until 2019. He then played for Buffalo from 2020 to 2023 before joining the Houston Texans for one year in 2024.
