Patriots Minicamp Begins

By Steve Atkinson 

The Patriots will start Minicamp this week. Mike Vrabel faced his first distraction as the Patriots’ head coach when Stefon Diggs, Drake Maye’s number-one receiver, was seen enjoying himself on a boat during Memorial Day Weekend. You’ve all seen the video; I don’t need to recap it. Diggs missed OTAs but returned last week and is expected to attend Minicamp next week, as it is mandatory. They can’t afford to lose Diggs, especially since he’s coming off an ACL injury; he is their best receiver. Without Diggs, their talent at the receiver position is virtually non-existent.

The Patriots acquired Diggs to support Drake Maye, similar to how Diggs helped Josh Allen. Although Diggs isn’t off to a great start off the field, it’s not unusual for receivers to get into some trouble. Randy Moss wasn’t exactly a model citizen off the field, but he still performed well with Brady throwing him touchdown passes. On the other hand, Antonio Brown’s situation was completely different, as he was released after only a brief time with the team. Do I think Diggs will be cut? Absolutely not, because they need him, and more importantly, Drake Maye needs him.

Patriots Can’t Afford To Lose Stefon Diggs

For Maye to make significant progress in his second year while learning a new offense, he needs a top receiver. Players like Polk, Baker, Bourne, and Douglas simply aren’t enough. Hooper and Henry don’t cut it either. What Maye truly needs is a deep threat, which is precisely what Diggs provides.

Bert Breer From MMQB said this recently on NBC Sports Boston

Yeah, I think he (Diggs) got the message,” Breer said. “I think there was a point last week when everything was on the table, and it really kind of rode on like, ‘OK, how does it go when Mike Vrabel has a chance to talk to him directly?’

“By all accounts, that conversation went fine. I think he was truthful with Mike. I think there was at least some degree of like, ‘What were you doing?’ And it’s not so much just being on a boat on Memorial Day weekend, whatever was in the bag. It’s more like, ‘There are cameras on the boat? What are you (thinking)?’”

With the retirement of David Andrews the offensive line gets new and younger with Will Campbell who singed his rookie deal this past week. He will be the left tackle this season for the Patriots because they don’t have one. Josh McDaniels is back at offensive coordinator this year and is making sure to add some West Coast style to his offense.