There are a lot of folks who see the New England Patriots being one of the NFL's top breakout teams in the league this coming season, and for good reason.
The Patriots hired a former NFL Coach of the Year in Mike Vrabel, who took some really nondescript Titans rosters deep in the postseason. They have a second-year quarterback in Drake Maye who has QB1 qualities and the potential to take a major leap under Josh McDaniels this season.
The Patriots spent big in NFL free agency on impact defensive players like Harold Landry and Milton Williams, who should upgrade their pass rush significantly.
They also made an extremely high-profile move that has somewhat flown under the radar. Does that even make sense? Regardless, the Patriots signed Stefon Diggs to a pretty unexpected three-year deal worth $69 million in what turned out to be a shocking payday for the star receiver, who didn't make much of an impact in Houston last year at all due to injury.
Diggs is 31 years old, coming off of injury, and hasn't been overly effective since 2023. But he has a chance to bounce back in a major way as the WR1 this coming season for the Patriots and it looks like he's poised to do exactly that.
Stefon Diggs showed up at Patriots OTAs without any brace on his knee
A non-contact knee injury last season (late October) caused Diggs to miss more than half the season for the Texans and, unfortunately, he wasn't able to make the type of impact (especially in the postseason) they envisioned when they traded to get him.
While Diggs has made a lot of headlines this offseason for off-field reasons (his outfit at the Met Gala, his relationship with Cardi B), a few photos that surfaced from Patriots OTAs have given Pats fans even more reason to believe this team can break through in 2025.
Diggs is not only on the field and doing work at Patriots OTAs, but you'll notice in one of these photos that he's also not even wearing a brace on his knee. Perhaps Diggs has advanced in his recovery from knee surgery last year even quicker than he anticipated.
That would help explain the size of the offer he received from New England and the expectation that he can truly be the number one target for Drake Maye this coming season.
Diggs joining the Patriots may have felt like an overpay by the Pats and a desperation move by Diggs, but they might be playing some chess here.