NFL
By Steve Atkinson
The Patriots have finally spent money on offense and signed Stefon Diggs, who’s coming off an ACL injury. He’ll probably be ready by week 5, but at least Drake Maye has a number one receiver. You have to give Mike Vrabel and Eliot Wolf credit on this one. Signing Diggs is something Belichick would’ve never done for Mac Jones, which is why he got fired for failing Mac. Now, Maye goes into his second year with a true number-one receiver.
Drake Maye will benefit from Stefon Diggs
Josh Allen was better when the Buffalo Bills signed Stefon Diggs. Diggs elevated Allen’s game and got him to be the quarterback he is today. Before Diggs, Allen was average and really overshadowed by Tom Brady in the division. Diggs with Maye, who is comparable to Josh Allen, will work wonders for him. The Patriots needed to add some legitimate talent at the receiver position after losing out on D.K. Metcalf and Cooper Kupp. There is no excuse to go into Drake’s second year with no number-one receiver unless the Krafts want to be really cheap.
It doesn’t stop with Diggs, though. They can still add a number two while drafting a receiver, hopefully a good one in the draft. If they do land Travis Hunter, he’ll probably be their number two receiver,while you have Kendrick Bourne in the third receiver role. The Patriots still need a left tackle which will hopefully come in the draft. But this Diggs move tonight is pretty big.
Belichick Wouldn’t have ssignedStefon Diggs
Bill Belichick wouldn’t have done this move and given a receiver $26 million guaranteed as part of a three-year $69 million deal. Not one player was going to make more than Belichick. But with Vrabel, we know the Patriots needed to not only fix the defense but also give Maye a legit number-one wide receiver, which they now have in Drake Maye. The only time Belichick signed a number one wide receiver was in 2007 when he traded for Randy Moss. Other than that, Brady made the guys around him better. Now, with Drake Maye and Diggs, that combination is going to be awesome and exciting to watch.
Now, could Kraft have done this with Jerod Mayo as their head coach? Sure, but they didn’t want Mayo and never gave him a chance. They filled a requirement, hired Vrabel, the coach they wanted, and now they will go out and get Drake Maye Stefon Diggs. This move had to be done because they couldn’t go into the draft doing nothing on offense. Mack Hollins doesn’t count, and getting another right tackle remains a need. They needed a number one receiver, and they just got one.
