Pats Pulpit
Diggs sees similarities in Maye with his former QB.
As the New England Patriots looked to upgrade quarterback Drake Maye’s supporting cast this offseason, the team agreed to a three-year, $69 million contract with free agent wide receiver Stefon Diggs.
Diggs, who has briefly connected with Maye over text since the signing, is ready to get to work with his new teammate — who he already sees similarities in with one of his former quarterback.
“Oh, I’m excited. I really look forward to it,” Diggs said. “It’s crazy because when you ask around, he has a lot of similarities — well, people say through the grapevine he acts a lot like Josh [Allen]. And you know, that was my guy. So, I look forward to meeting him and connecting with him.”
Diggs’ arrival in Buffalo back in 2020 coincided with Allen’s breakout season in his third year in the league. Allen recorded career-highs in both passing yards and touchdowns as Diggs led the league with 1,535 receiving yards.
New England is now hoping the 31-year-old Diggs can have a similar impact on Maye, whose play style has also drawn comparisons to Allen, both on and off the field entering his sophomore season.
“I got the experience. I’ve been doing this for 10 and a half years,” Diggs said. “I played with a lot of quarterbacks, I’ve been around a lot of quarterbacks. So learning the quarterback, getting to know him, spending more time with them — once you know somebody on a more personal level I feel like it’s a lot of carryover to the field.”
“Just honing in on what he’s good at. We played [Maye] last year. He shows a lot of fight. He got that fiery quarterback. I want to win myself so that’s something I get excited about and love to be around.”
After tearing his ACL in late October last season, Diggs is hoping to get on the field with Maye sooner rather than later as he is ahead of schedule in his rehab process. Once he’s back between the white lines, Diggs is confident he can continue to produce with his new quarterback.
“What I’ve done in my past is my résumé, but at this point I’m really looking forward to putting my best foot in front of me,” Diggs said.
“Even towards last year I was at like 47 receptions and like 450 yards or something like that — close to 500 yards. So that’s halfway through the season. I would have been on pace to have another 1,000-yard season and 100 catches if I didn’t get banged up. If you’re doing the math right, I’m going to be productive.”
