The 2024 New England Patriots were dreadful. They finished 4-13, with an offense that ranked 31st in total yards, ahead of only the league-worst Chicago Bears, and 30th in points scored. They averaged just 17 points per game (30th), and the passing attack was especially poor, generating a league-worst 2,995 yards.
However, the Patriots have a gem in second-year quarterback Drake Maye. Out goes head coach Jerod Mayo, and in comes Patriots legend Mike Vrabel, who has been tasked with building a functioning offense around him.
New England drafted left tackle Will Campbell, center Jared Wilson, and running back TreVon Henderson. That adds youth to both the line and the backfield, but the Patriots also targeted veteran wide receiver Stefon Diggs to spark the passing game. Diggs, however, has spent the entire offseason rehabbing his knee.
Will Stefon Diggs be Able to Play in Week 1?
When asked about Diggs’ availability, Vrabel said, per WEEI, “As of today, he’ll be out there.”
After signing Diggs to a three-year, $63 million deal, the Patriots are expected to rely heavily on him in the passing game.
Diggs is one of the NFL’s most explosive receivers when healthy. He broke out with the Minnesota Vikings and recorded four straight 1,000-yard seasons after being traded to the Buffalo Bills.
He was later traded to the Houston Texans before the 2024 season and tore his ACL in Week 8.
Patriots WR Stefon Diggs (knee) expected to play Week 1 vs. Raiders, per HC Mike Vrabel.
“As of today, he’ll be out there.” 👀
(@WEEI) pic.twitter.com/4wSubgQN4t
— SleeperNFL (@SleeperNFL) September 2, 2025
His arrival in New England is welcome, as even Maye expects a big year in 2025. Maye went 3-9 in 12 starts while completing 225 of 338 passes for 2,276 yards and 15 touchdowns.
Drake Maye feels he has ‘a lot to live up to’ as first-time Patriots captain https://t.co/r6sdqqAsZE #ForeverNE pic.twitter.com/3CQraxBdhf
— WEEI (@WEEI) September 2, 2025
The numbers may not jump off the page, but film shows a supremely talented quarterback who performed well under difficult circumstances.
It’s paramount for the Patriots to surround Maye with reliable weapons. If Diggs, who is on a three-year, $63.5 million contract, is back to full strength, he provides a significant upgrade on the outside, even at age 31.
Conventional wisdom says receivers tend to decline past 30, but players of Diggs’ caliber are rare. He was on pace to surpass 1,000 yards in 2024, so it is not unreasonable to think he has another year or two of elite play left.
If he does, the Patriots could find themselves in the hunt for a Wild Card berth.
Diggs’ Fantasy Outlook for Week 1
PFSN’s Kyle Soppe wrote this about Diggs’ fantasy outlook for the Week 1 matchup against the Raiders:
Stefon Diggs’ aDOT has dipped from 11.9 yards in 2022 to 10.8 in 2023 and 8.3 in 2024. That’s not rare regarding how a skill set fits the age curve at the receiver position, but it is concerning.
DeMario Douglas is the designated short-area winner with a feel for this offense, and Drake Maye was the 23rd-ranked passer on short throws as a rookie. For Diggs to succeed at a usable level, he either needs to reverse the course of Father Time and ramp up his aDOT or co-exists with Douglas as a chain mover in an offense with a QB who has yet to show he can expose defenses on those quick routes.
Thanks, but no thanks.
The Raiders had the eighth-highest opponent pass TD rate last season (5.2% of attempts). If my fade on Diggs is going to be wrong, it could be obvious as soon as Week 1, but I’m comfortable in taking my chances in betting against a 31-year-old WR who is on his third team in as many years and didn’t exactly have a clean offseason.
