New England Patriots - NESN.com
The New England Patriots would love for Stefon Diggs to fuel Drake Maye’s ascension the way the wide receiver helped elevate Josh Allen to stardom.
Allen and Diggs spent four highly productive seasons together on the Buffalo Bills. During that time, Diggs had an NFL-high 445 catches while Allen amassed the second-most passing yards and touchdowns to Patrick Mahomes.
After an injury-shortened 2024, Diggs returns to the AFC East. New England signed the All-Pro to a three-year deal in hopes of giving Maye a premier target.
Allen discussed how Diggs will help Maye’s maturation in an interview with Sports Illustrated’s Liam McKeone.
“I think he brings a lot of security for Drake,” Allen said. “Obviously, having the knowledge of playing in the league for so long, he has that veteran mentorship that he can give to Drake.”
Allen is impressed by the “super talented” Maye. The reigning MVP likes how the 22-year-old handles himself.
“He’s one of my favorite young quarterbacks in the league,” Allen added. “I’ve spent some time around him and he’s got his head on his shoulders the right way. He just does things the right way. I think that he exemplifies football. He’ll take it and run, he’ll throw it, and to have someone like Stefon is going to help him out a lot.”
Diggs’ arrival sparked a massive breakout for Allen, who went from 20 touchdowns and an 85.3 quarterback rating in 2019 to 37 touchdowns and a 107.2 quarterback rating when Diggs joined the Bills the following year. The star signal-caller has exceeded 4,000 passing yards in each season with Diggs but hasn’t hit that mark in three years without him.
Meanwhile, Maye began his NFL career with an 88.1 quarterback rating. Tight end Hunter Henry led the Patriots with 674 receiving yards last season, but Diggs gives the second-year passer a prolific target to ignite the offense in 2025.
