What signing Stefon Diggs in free agency means for the Patriots

The Patriots are adding a Pro Bowl wide receiver to the fold.

Five days after hosting him on a visit, the New England Patriots and free agent Stefon Diggs have reached an agreement. The veteran wide receiver, who last played for the Houston Texans, is coming to Foxboro via a three-year contract with a reported maximum value of $69 million.

While the full details of the pact have yet to become available, the simple fact that Diggs is now a Patriot changes the entire complexion of the team’s wide receiver room. With that in mind, let’s analyze what the signing means from a big-picture perspective.

Alpha wide receiver

The Patriots entered the offseason with a definitive need at the wide receiver position, and they were quite motivated to address it. However, despite that and having plenty of cap space available they did not bring the coveted No. 1 wide receiver in: they unsuccessful pursued Chris Godwin, expressed interest in DK Metcalf and Cooper Kupp, and also were expected to go after Tee Higgins had he made it to the open market.

New England eventually pivoted to Diggs, a player who falls into a similar category than those four. While on the older side compared to Godwin, Metcalf and Higgins, he was an alpha in every wide receiver group he was part of: the 31-year-old was a tone-setter in Minnesota, Buffalo and Houston both on and off the field.

While that came with some well-documented outbursts of frustration, Diggs brings a clear competitive spirt and extensive experience to New England. A team captain in his first and only year with the Texans, he seems like a candidate to take on a leadership role in what was a young room last season.

Playmaking potential

Coming off a torn ACL suffered in late October, questions about Diggs’ outlook are only natural. Time will tell whether or how quickly he will return to the player of old — somebody who had six straight 1,000-yard seasons between 2018 and 2023 — but the potential is clear: a healthy Diggs can be a go-to receiver for quarterback Drake Maye.

The experience of a combined 158 regular season and playoff games plays a part in that, as does the fact that he seems comfortable keeping himself alive as a receiving option in off-schedule situations. Diggs has shown that repeatedly with Buffalo Bills QB Josh Allen and to a lesser degree with C.J. Stroud in Houston.

Drake Maye, of course, plays the game in a similar fashion. The second-year passer has the athleticism to extend plays and the arm talent to throw an accurate ball regardless of platform and angle. The main missing ingredient last year was the receivers, who at times were unable to put themselves in a position to help their QB — something the seasoned Diggs should be able to do.

The Patriots have seen what Diggs can provide to an offense regularly through the years, including last season. The veteran pass catcher had one of the best games of his Texans tenure against New England in Week 6, catching 6 passes for 77 yards and a touchdown against none other than star cornerback Christian Gonzalez.

In total, Diggs finished the 2024 season with 47 receptions for 496 yards and 3 touchdowns. He was on the field for 78.1 percent of Houston’s available offensive snaps before his ACL tear in Week 8.

Trickle-down effect

With Diggs in the fold, the Patriots now have nine wide receivers under contract for the 2025 season. Around a third of them will not be on the team come the regular season:

Wide receiver (9): Stefon Diggs (–), Mack Hollins (13), Ja’Lynn Polk (1), DeMario Douglas (3), Kayshon Boutte (9), Kendrick Bourne (84), Javon Baker (6), JaQuae Jackson (82), John Jiles (83)

A more comprehensive look at the position shows a depth chart that looks somewhat like this at the moment:

X receiver (5): Mack Hollins (13), Kayshon Boutte (9), Javon Baker (6), JaQuae Jackson (82), John Jiles (83)

Z receiver (3): Stefon Diggs (–), Ja’Lynn Polk (1), Kendrick Bourne (84)

Slot receiver (1): DeMario Douglas (3)

From the current perspective, only two players can be considered roster locks come the regular season; Diggs and fellow free agency pickup Mack Hollins will be part of the mix this fall. The odds are also looking good for Ja’Lynn Polk and DeMario Douglas, the former a second-round draft pick last year and the latter New England’s leading wideout in both of his seasons in the league.

All the other pass catchers, meanwhile, will be competing for a finite number of spots. One name stands out in particular among them: Kendrick Bourne, who, as can be seen above, is playing a similar role as the one Diggs is expected to fill. Adding him to the mix might therefore be bad news for Bourne.

Draft impact

What the depth chart above shows is that the Patriots still appear to have room for improvement at the X-receiver position, even with Mack Hollins added on a two-year deal in free agency. Improved play at the Z spot from Diggs and Ja’Lynn Polk would lessen the need for an investment in that area, but New England likely remains in the market.

The need as a whole does look slightly different now, though. Whereas inside-first receivers such as Missouri’s Luther Bolden III appeared like realistic targets for the Patriots heading before the addition of Diggs, they now might no longer be seen as priority candidates.

That being said, Diggs will turn 32 this season and is coming off a major injury. Despite signing a three-year pact, the Patriots are not in a position to just turn away talent at wide receiver regardless of projected position.

No injury concern

What do Stefon Diggs and Davante Adams have in common? Not only are they both wide receivers in their 30s, they also all signed new free agency contracts including $26 million in guarantees. One key difference between them is how they ended the 2024 season: while Adams was stuck in pro football purgatory — i.e. with the New York Jets — Diggs was recovering from the aforementioned ACL tear.

And yet, both got the same number of guarantees in their new deals. Obviously, every veteran NFL contract is unique and dependent on a variety of factors, but the Patriots handing out a healthy sum of guaranteed money is an indication they are comfortable with Diggs’ outlook less than five months removed from his injury.

Diggs is reportedly “on track” to be ready for the start of the regular season in September. It remains to be seen how ready, but the team is apparently feeling optimistic.

Salary cap impact

As noted above, the details of Diggs’ contract are not yet known; we will break them down once they have become available. For the time being, however, it seems that the widely-mentioned $69 million figure will not end up as the pact’s actual base value: according to a report by NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, it is an “up to” sum suggesting that this is the number Diggs’ camp wants out there.

The reality of the deal in regards to its salary cap impact will likely be different. Expect the actual average annual value to be below $23 million.