What exactly are the Patriots getting in Stefon Diggs? He’s an older receiver trying to come back from a torn ACL.
Diggs hasn’t made as much giddyup in recent years. He averaged only 11.1 yards per catch in his final year with the Bills; they kind of phased him out of their offense in the second half of that season. And Diggs averaged only 10.6 yards per catch last year with Houston.
Diggs will be sure to let the coaching staff, quarterback and fans know if he’s not getting the ball enough. We can be sure of that.
Diggs will be 32 in November. I think his days of being used on many downfield routes are over. The Patriots have a nice slot receiver, Pop Douglas; I hope those guys don’t get in each other’s way.
On the comp front, we can look at receivers trying to return to relevance after injuries in their 30s. There have been a lot of them.
Playing around with the stats in our databased, I see 15 instances in the last 20 years where a receiver at least 32 years old came back to post top-70 numbers (using PPR scoring) after playing in 10 or fewer games the previous season.
I see two who put up top-10 numbers (Terrell Owens, Joey Galloway), and two in the top 20 (Bobby Engram, Keenan McCardell). Just five others in the top 40.
I would not include Diggs among my top 50 wide receivers today. But he at least gives the Patriots a veteran who’s been through the wars. And if form holds, he’ll be lobbying for the ball.
In the chart below, players who were with other franchises in the previous season are tagged with black dots. The final clump of numbers for each name shows the production from the previous, injury-shortened season -- games, catches, yards, touchdowns).
| OLDER RECEIVERS COMING OFF PARTIAL SEASONS | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Player | Age | G | No | Yds | TD | PPK | Rk | (G No-Yds-TD) |
| 2006 | • Terrell Owens, Dall. | 33 | 16 | 85 | 1180 | 13 | 283.0 | 2 | (7 47-763-6) |
| 2005 | Joey Galloway, T.B. | 34 | 16 | 83 | 1287 | 10 | 272.1 | 7 | (10 33-416-6) |
| 2007 | Bobby Engram, Sea. | 34 | 16 | 94 | 1147 | 6 | 244.7 | 12 | (7 24-290-1) |
| 2005 | Keenan McCardell, S.D. | 35 | 16 | 70 | 917 | 9 | 216.3 | 17 | (7 31-393-1) |
| 2004 | • Keyshawn Johnson, Dall. | 32 | 16 | 70 | 981 | 6 | 205.4 | 26 | (10 45-600-3) |
| 2008 | Marvin Harrison, Ind. | 36 | 15 | 60 | 636 | 5 | 153.6 | 36 | (5 20-247-1) |
| 2016 | Steve Smith, Balt. | 37 | 14 | 70 | 799 | 5 | 183.9 | 37 | (7 46-670-3) |
| 2002 | Ed McCaffrey, Den. | 34 | 16 | 69 | 903 | 2 | 173.5 | 37 | (1 6-94-1) |
| 2014 | Malcom Floyd, S.D. | 33 | 16 | 52 | 856 | 6 | 173.6 | 40 | (2 6-149-0) |
| 2007 | Amani Toomer, NYG | 33 | 16 | 59 | 760 | 3 | 153.0 | 41 | (8 32-360-3) |
| 2007 | • David Patten, N.O. | 33 | 16 | 54 | 792 | 3 | 150.7 | 43 | (5 1-25-0) |
| 2014 | Reggie Wayne, Ind. | 36 | 15 | 64 | 779 | 2 | 153.9 | 50 | (7 38-503-2) |
| 2012 | • Brandon Stokley, Den. | 36 | 15 | 45 | 544 | 5 | 129.4 | 60 | (2 1-7-0) |
| 2021 | Antonio Brown, T.B. | 33 | 7 | 42 | 545 | 4 | 121.1 | 60 | (8 45-483-4) |
| 2020 | • Antonio Brown, T.B. | 32 | 8 | 45 | 483 | 4 | 117.1 | 65 | (1 4-56-1) |
| 2025 | • Stefon Diggs, N.E. | 32 | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | (8 47-496-3) |
Some may feel it unfair to call Diggs a 32-year-old (since he doesn’t turn 32 until November). The same chart for players in their age-31 seasons appears below.
| 31-YEAR-OLDS COMING OFF PARTIAL SEASONS | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Player | G | No | Yds | TD | PPK | Rk | (G No-Yds-TD) |
| 2012 | Andre Johnson, Hou. | 16 | 112 | 1598 | 4 | 295.8 | 6 | (7 33-492-2) |
| 2023 | Keenan Allen, LAC | 13 | 108 | 1243 | 7 | 281.4 | 8 | (10 66-752-4) |
| 2005 | Terry Glenn, Dall. | 16 | 62 | 1136 | 8 | 223.2 | 15 | (6 24-400-2) |
| 2023 | • DeAndre Hopkins, Ten. | 17 | 75 | 1057 | 7 | 223.6 | 22 | (9 64-717-3) |
| 2005 | • Joe Jurevicius, Sea. | 16 | 55 | 694 | 10 | 184.4 | 29 | (10 27-333-2) |
| 2020 | T.Y. Hilton, Ind. | 15 | 56 | 762 | 5 | 164.2 | 42 | (10 45-501-5) |
| 2007 | • Brandon Stokley, Den. | 13 | 40 | 635 | 5 | 132.9 | 53 | (4 8-85-1) |
—Ian Allan
