By Chad Graff The Athletic
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The perception most people have of Stefon Diggs is that he’s mercurial. Dramatic. Maybe the word gets thrown around.

There’s a reason for all of that, sure. The last season I covered Diggs while he was a member of the Minnesota Vikings, he straight up skipped a practice, returned the next day, smiled at a nearby PR staffer before a news conference, pulled the hood of his sweatshirt over his head and claimed he was sick. He faked a cough for good measure before admitting, when asked about his interest in being traded, that, “There’s truth to all rumors.”

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A few months later, he was dealt to Buffalo. After four Pro Bowl seasons there in which he averaged 111 receptions, 1,343 yards and nine touchdowns, things grew bitter with the Bills, a second team with which his welcome wore thin. A second time when he wanted the ball more than he received it.

All of this supports the image that many have of Diggs. There have been sideline antics and off-field drama.

But after Diggs agreed to a three-year deal with the New England Patriots worth up to $69 million (but with just $26 million guaranteed), I thought back to a different moment with Diggs.

It was Jan. 5, 2020. The Vikings were playing a wild-card playoff game in New Orleans against the Saints. The Superdome was rocking. Quarterback Kirk Cousins was having trouble against a suffocating pass rush. Diggs was the team’s leading receiver (by far) all season, but he wasn’t targeted once in the first half. If there was a time for a “diva” receiver to make his displeasure known, this was it.

But when Diggs went over to Cousins on the sideline, he didn’t throw a tantrum or demand the ball. He told his quarterback to play his game. “Don’t feel like you gotta force s— to me, all right?” Diggs told Cousins.

That’s the version of Diggs I thought back to after the Patriots signed him. Diggs isn’t the same guy he was back then. Age and injuries change your perspective. He’s 31 now, coming off the first significant injury of his NFL career, and on his third team in three years.

But for all the drama that has accompanied Diggs through his 10-year career, the team-first attitude he showed in New Orleans will be hugely beneficial with a young New England team.

More than anything else, the 2025 season is important for the Patriots in terms of what it means for quarterback Drake Maye’s development. If he remains on the right track, it’s not the end of the world if they miss the playoffs. But to give Maye a chance, the Patriots had to get him better wide receivers.

Diggs is a massive step in that direction. Even if he’s no longer at his incredible first-team All-Pro peak of 2020, when he had 127 catches for 1,535 yards in his first year in Buffalo, Diggs was still on pace for around 1,000 yards last season before his ACL tear. (It’s worth noting here that the Patriots haven’t had a 1,000-yard receiver since Julian Edelman in 2019.)

And this, of course, was a bad offseason for New England to need a wide receiver. DK Metcalf, Chris Godwin and Cooper Kupp didn’t want to come here. Deebo Samuel wasn’t a fit. Given that, a guy in his 30s coming off an ACL tear might not look so bad.

But it’s a valuable signing for other reasons, too. With Diggs on the roster, the Pats’ need at receiver isn’t glaring that they’re forced to pick one in the first two rounds. This way, if, say, Abdul Carter falls to No. 4 in Round 1, the Pats can grab him, then take an offensive tackle in the second round without the wide receiver position being a total mess.

There’s also the issue of what his presence could mean for a young group of Patriots receivers that struggled mightily last year. There’s plenty to learn from Diggs, who for a few years had a case to make as the best route runner in the NFL. His body may not allow him to do what he did in 2020 anymore, but that knowledge is still in there. There are also lessons for a young group in his journey. He was a fifth-round pick out of Maryland in 2015. Nothing was guaranteed for him, and stardom didn’t come until his game-winning “Minneapolis Miracle” catch in the playoffs following the 2017 season.

For all the drama that’s followed him, it hasn’t typically come with locker-room disdain. In Minnesota, he was frequently the loudest voice in the locker room on Friday afternoons, holding roundtable debates with teammates, ranking everything from NBA players to nearby restaurants. More laughs were shared around his locker than any other.

He’s also fiercely competitive. There’s the image of Diggs in full uniform watching the Kansas City Chiefs celebrate an AFC Championship. It was also conspicuous in wide receiver drills with the Vikings where he tried to best Adam Thielen. And in summertime drills with his brother, Dallas Cowboys cornerback Trevon Diggs, where they’d match up one-on-one. Afterward, Stefon would often post videos of those matchups on social media, though they suspiciously never included shots of his little brother winning a rep.

“That’s ‘cause he takes the phone,” Trevon once told me. “Every time we make a good play on him, he takes the phone and deletes the video. That way, there’s no proof.”

It’s fair to note here that the Patriots didn’t have a whole lot of other options. This draft class is relatively weak at receiver. The remaining free-agent options are bleak. They had to get someone.

And yet, this was the right move. Maybe it won’t work out. Maybe the drama is inescapable for Diggs and his teams. Maybe this all ends poorly.

But the Patriots couldn’t go into next season without an upgrade at wide receiver. And now they are finally getting Maye the kind of big-play target he needs.