Pats Pulpit
Stefon Diggs’ return to Buffalo was a full-on success.
Not only did the New England Patriots ended up beating his former club, the Bills, in upset fashion, he also played a pivotal role in the game. The first-year Patriot caught 10 passes for 146 yards, his best statistical output since joining the team as a free agent in March.
Given his production — he was responsible for 45.5% of the Patriots’ receptions and 53.5% of their receiving yards — Diggs being classified as New England’s WR1 seems to make sense. However, his playing time does not reflect that label: he was only the third most-used wideout on the team on Sunday night, with both Kayshon Boutte (37) and Mack Hollins (35) seeing more snaps than Diggs’ 30.
The difference between those three starter-level players is not significant, but it shows that the 31-year-old is not the clear top option his performance would suggest. Even though he is leading the team with 34 targets, 29 catches and 359 receiving yards through five games, he is still being employed as a package player rather than an every-play contributor — a likely byproduct of the fact that he suffered a torn ACL less than 12 months ago and that the Patriots are relying on plenty of a 12-personnel groupings.
That said, he is making the most of his opportunities so far.
Here is our full snap count report from the Patriots’ 23-20 win at Highmark Stadium.
Total snaps: 60 | Time on the field: 24:15 | *denotes starter
QB Drake Maye* (60; 100%), LT Will Campbell* (60; 100%), LG Jared Wilson* (60; 100%), C Garrett Bradbury* (60; 100%), RG Mike Onwenu* (60; 100%), RT Morgan Moses* (60; 100%), TE Hunter Henry* (52; 87%), WR Kayshon Boutte* (37; 62%), WR Mack Hollins* (35; 58%), TE Austin Hooper (34; 57%), RB Rhamondre Stevenson* (31; 52%), RB TreVeyon Henderson (30; 50%), WR Stefon Diggs* (30; 50%), WR DeMario Douglas (17; 28%), FB/TE Jack Westover (14; 23%), WR Kyle Williams (10; 17%), RB Antonio Gibson (9; 15%), OT/TE Vederian Lowe (1; 2%)
As noted above, the Patriots gave Kayshon Boutte and Mack Hollins more reps than Diggs on Sunday, but neither had the same impact on the game. Boutte was solid, making three big catches including a 19-yarder on the game-winning drive, while Hollins did not catch any passes. Nonetheless, the latter clearly remains ahead of fellow outside receiver Kyle Williams at this point in the season.
The composition of the depth chart will also be interesting to watch at running back. With Rhamondre Stevenson losing his third fumble of the year on Sunday, and with Antonio Gibson suffering a season-ending knee injury on a kickoff return, rookie TreVeyon Henderson might be in line to see an increased role. Against Buffalo, he end Stevenson effectively ended up splitting reps.
Elsewhere, Jared Wilson went wire-to-wire in his return from a one-week absence due to knee and ankle injuries; Jack Westover played his most snaps of...
