The New England Patriots made a big gamble when they chose to give Stefon Diggs all that money. Not many 31-year-old wide receivers get lucrative deals, much less those with a history of character issues and coming off an ACL injury.
Diggs is expected to be the team's WR1 and playmaker. Having a veteran of his caliber could give Drake Maye the ultimate insurance policy in his first full year as a starter, at least on paper.
However, as Mike Renner pointed out on X, the former Houston Texans star looked like a shell of his former self in his debut, and while the numbers were pretty decent, all things considered, his inability to create separation could be a big concern going forward.
Stefon Diggs Struggles in Patriots Debut
"Giving a 31-year-old WR coming off a torn ACL $16.6m guaranteed was suspect at the time, but looked even worse on tape yesterday," said Renner. "Shouldn’t even be taking snaps away from the young guy for the Pats."
Diggs played 35 out of 64 snaps, and he hauled in six catches on seven targets for 57 yards, with his longer reception of the day going for 16 yards. Still, despite the expectations, he believes he did just fine in his first game back:
“Decent, it was my first game back, I was just happy to be back,” Diggs told the media after the game. “It [was] a lot of plays out there, we got a lot of players too. So, doing my job is important to me, and I am continuing to do that.”
Of course, there will be some growing pains, and it might take a while before he goes back to his usual ways. But he's never been a speedster or someone who will burn defensive backs with his acceleration, so if he fails to create separation, he's not going to be much of a factor for this offense.