By this time, it’s a known fact that for the Patriots, Stefon Diggs was not the first choice to be the team’s WR1. He was just the first choice who said yes. There was interest in trading for Brandon Aiyuk, of course, who did not want to go to New England. The same could be said of Tee Higgins with the Bengals. There was a hard push to sign the Buccaneers’ Chris Godwin, who did not want to leave Tampa.
And there was a pursuit of DK Metcalf, who went to Pittsburgh in a trade from Seattle because he did not want to come to the Patriots.
Ultimately, the Patriots got the last laugh. Aiyuk and Godwin have struggled with health. Higgins is catching passes from backups. Metcalf has only 15 catches, with is 82nd in the league.
Diggs is outplaying all of them, with 29 catches (tied for 10th in the NFL) and 359 yards (12th). He has a PFF grade of 85.6, which is fifth among the league’s 125 graded receivers.
Patriots Getting Big-Time Production From Diggs-Maye
Diggs was outstanding, of course, against Buffalo in Week 5. Facing his former team, he had 10 catches and 146 yards, repeatedly making clutch plays to put the Patriots within scoring range. Maybe that game was a one-off, given his personal motivation, but it could also be seen as the result of a build-up in trust from quarterback Drake Maye.
It was Diggs’ second straight 100-yard day. And Maye clearly has confidence in Diggs, who has been targeted 34 times, posting an 85.3% catch-to-target rate.
Drake Maye: Diggs ‘Easy to Throw To’
The Diggs-Maye connection appears to be very real. Maye talked about it on Wednesday.
“I think the biggest thing is that he’s a receiver that’s easy to throw to,” Maye said. “He has great hands, he catches different ways—with his body, he turns with the football and makes people miss very easily. It’s very natural. So, you can just tell he’s played receiver a long time and played at a high level.
“So, just trying to put it in his vicinity. And he always says, ‘I got you.’ I just trust that, and I think it will continue to build and build and try to get him in the end zone.”
Patriots ‘Moving Forward’ After Big Win
Diggs said on Wednesday that the superhuman plays Maye seemed to make at times on Sunday did not surprise him. The two have been building a rapport going back to the spring.
“Nothing really surprises me. It was just a hell of a game,” he said. “I think it’s more important to move forward, obviously, because it’s in the past. Obviously, we got a big win but moving forward is going to be key for us as far as how we want our season to go and where we are at this point. But hell of a play by him, he is a hell of a player. Hopefully, he makes a lot more of those.”
As for the numbers has has been putting up, Diggs said he is not surprised by that, either, despite the fact that he is 31 and coming off a torn ACL he suffered a year ago when he was playing for Houston.
“I expect to have success,” Diggs said. “I expect to have success and catch the ball. It’s part of my job. I don’t think one game rolls over into another, everybody plays different.”
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