Pats Pulpit
After not playing in a football game in over 300 days, Stefon Diggs can feel Week 1 of the NFL season right around the corner. His quarterback has been able to tell.
“He continues to show as game week and game day comes closer and closer, how much he’s elevating his game and elevating his practice style,” Drake Maye said on Wednesday. “I’m looking forward to getting out there with him on Sunday and I think you’ll see a good energy from Stef and I’m looking forward to get him the rock and let him do his thing.”
Despite suffering a torn ACL last October, Diggs was cleared for the start of Patriots training camp and has done everything the team has asked of him to date. That included being limited in some sessions while being full-go during other reps this summer.
“I was coming back from injury. Moreso, Coach (Mike Vrabel), Coach Todd (Downing), and Coach Josh (McDaniels), it was more the mental reps. Make sure I’m getting the mental reps because the bullets are going to be flying real, real soon,” Diggs said Wednesday. “Prior to that, they didn’t want to put too much of a workload on me. I wanted it, but they were obviously being smart. I’ve been around for a little bit of time, I didn’t forget how to play football.”
Lately, Diggs has been seeing more-and-more reps on the practice fields as part of elevating his performance ahead of Week 1. With the focus on that matchup against the Las Vegas Raiders, Diggs was quick to respond when asked if he’ll potentially be on a pitch count.
“Hell no!” Diggs said with a smile. “I don’t know. I don’t make the rules. We’ll see how it goes, but I really hope not.”
Signed to a three-year, $69 million contract this offseason, the Patriots hope that Diggs can be a top target for Maye this season. The 31-year old has served as one of New England’s top wide receivers this summer in addition to Kayshon Boutte and DeMario Douglas.
The four-time Pro Bowler looks set to hold a high-volume role in Josh McDaniels’ offense, but he is ready to take whatever numbers come his way despite his pedigree.
“It’s a different offense, and we’ve got a lot of weapons. For me, I’m not going in there like, ‘Man, I need to…’ — nah, it’s not that kind of party. We’ve got a lot of guys that can make plays at a high level,” Diggs said. “What I’m accustomed to doesn’t mean it’s right or wrong, it’s just is what it is. At this point in my career, I’m excited just to get out there and just put more pressure on make the most of your opportunities.
“I had talked to my receivers coach, Coach Todd, ‘Eat what’s on your plate.’ Everybody gets some plays here and there or whatever you got, if you got this many targets or that many targets, eat what’s on your...
