Mike Vrabel understands how important it is for the Patriots to surround Drake Maye with good players.
That’s one reason why the Patriots signed veteran receiver Stefon Diggs to a 3-year, $69 million deal on Tuesday. Along with his skillset, the 31-year-old is known for his competitive fire.
That’s something that left an impression on Vrabel, who met with Diggs a week ago at Gillette Stadium. On Thursday, the Patriots coach spoke on the Green Light podcast with Chris Long and talked for the first time publicly about Diggs joining his team.
“Yeah, just trying to make sure we’re supporting Drake and supporting the football team,” Vrabel said. “And again, this is a highly competitive, confident receiver that’s produced throughout his career and multiple ways, play style. He’s got a play strength to him that you see that he can play physical, you know, route craft … good at the catch point, has been good in the red zone. There’s a play style to him that I’ve always appreciated, and that we want to continue to enhance and make sure that he’s doing things to help us.”
Diggs instantly gives the Patriots an upgrade at their receiver position. He’s currently coming off a season-ending ACL injury, but will reportedly be ready for Week 1.
In eight games last year, Diggs was seventh in the NFL in receptions (47) before landing on the injured reserve. The Patriots only had two players finish the 17-game season with more caches than that (DeMario Douglas and Hunte Henry). Diggs also averaged 62.0 yards per game in Houston. The Patriots haven’t had a receiver average 60 yards or more since Julian Edelman in 2019. That also marked the last time New England had a 1,000-yard receiver.
That’s a feat Diggs has accomplished six times in his 10-year NFL career.
Vrabel also said that he liked what he heard from Diggs when the team met with the wide receiver last week.
“It’s just his conversation, his demeanor, his attitude, and his presence have been, you know, great through our conversation,” Vrabel said. “And hopefully we can continue to add good players.”
That should be music to Maye’s ears.
