The New England Patriots added a veteran wide receiver to the roster this offseason to provide Drake Maye with some additional weapons on the outside to utilize in his second season as a starting quarterback.
While he is still working his way back from the ACL injury in his right knee that cut short his 2024 campaign, veteran wide receiver Stefon Diggs is back on the practice field and turning heads in New England in the early going of his run with the Patriots.
Veteran tight end Austin Hooper shared his thoughts on what the former University of Maryland standout has been able to show during the early portion of New England's offseason training program and had quite the reaction to what he saw.
"Energy, man. He's a freak. You can see him already with the explosion, the change of direction, the top end [speed]. It's like, 'Dang, it must be nice'," Hooper said, via Mike Reiss of ESPN.com.
The Patriots' signal caller liked what he saw out of Diggs as well, per Reiss. Maye noted how Diggs was on his fantasy team while he was in high school and is now excited to have the opportunity to be the one delivering passes to the veteran wideout.
Assuming Diggs can get back to the level of production we've grown accustomed to seeing throughout his career before his knee injury during the 2024 campaign. He will provide New England with a weapon on the perimeter that they haven't had the luxury to call their own in a number of years.
Before last year's injury, Diggs recorded at least 1,000 receiving yards in six consecutive seasons.
With Diggs teaming up with rookie Kyle Williams and former Liberty University standout DeMario Douglas, New England has a vastly improved wide receiver room that should only make life on Maye much easier as he enters his second season under center for the Patriots.