FOXBOROUGH – Players circled Stefon Diggs and watched closely as the Pro Bowl receiver spoke.
The group hung on every word as the veteran’s voice grew louder. Standing on the Gillette Stadium turf, with a packed crowd around them, Diggs gave his pregame sermon Sunday. The Patriots brought the 31-year-old to New England, hoping to give the offense a No. 1 receiver.
It turns out, they also added a motivational speaker and leader.
Every weekend, Diggs gives his teammates a pregame speech. On this Sunday, passion exploded from the charismatic receiver before the team’s game against the Carolina Panthers.
When it was over, teammates credited Diggs for leading them before and during their 42-13 blowout win.
“It’s electrifying,” said rookie Kyle Williams. “You’ve got a dude that’s the leader of the room and, in my opinion, a hall of fame receiver. Having that type of dude speak life into the offense and into the team, it just gets you juiced up to go out there and execute plays.”
The numbers spoke loudly, but Diggs’ words spoke louder.
Behind the message
Coming out of a disappointing loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, Mike Vrabel gave his team a simple message. He wanted them to get back to the basics and rely on their team identity.
During his pregame speech, Diggs reminded his teammates of the coach’s message. He not only reinforced Vrabel’s words but also did the same for offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels.
“It was motivational,” Patriots tight end Austin Hooper said. “Reminding us of things that we were emphasizing. What Vrabes was emphasizing, what offensively Josh wants us to emphasize. It’s a standard that Diggs, a player of his caliber, brings to this offense in general, just lifting up everyone. I’m really fortunate to share a locker with a guy like that.”
Diggs reminded his teammates of the Patriots team identity. Patriots center Garrett Bradbury said those are “effort and finish. Ball security. Details, technique, and fundamentals. And make great decisions.”
As Diggs spoke, he told his teammates what he planned to do. The receiver wanted to come out with energy and take the fight to the Panthers. After a strong week of practice, players were confident on Sunday. Diggs reminded them why.
“A lot of it was having that energy and passion,” Bradbury said. “We had a good week of work. The coach’s message, players’ message this week was back to the basics and rely on the identity of this football team, the work we put in. That was kind of Diggs’ message. ‘Listen, we worked Wednesday, we worked Thursday, this is the last piece of the puzzle.”
Diggs steps up
Hooper spent four seasons in Atlanta with All-Pro receiver Julio Jones. He sees similarities in how Diggs is wired.
It’s about confidence.
The tight end noted that sometimes people misconstrue it as problematic, but noted that otherworldly receivers can energize teammates in ways that others can’t.
“It’s infectious,” Hooper said. “Like speaking for the offense, a guy who has that type of swag, that type of juice to him and still uplifts his teammates. He rallies around them if something goes the wrong way. Not all superstars do that type of stuff. It’s the way he leads just by saying what the room needs to hear. That’s the thing that stands out to me with Diggs. He’s professional, shows up every day. Positive attitude and uplifts the people around him.”
On Sunday, Diggs had his best game as a Patriot, catching six of seven passes for 101 yards.
This marked his first 100-yard game since 2023, a rare achievement for Patriots receivers. Since Julian Edelman retired following the 2020 season, the Patriots have had two receivers accomplish the feat – DeVante Parker (2022) and Kayshon Boutte (Week 1 of this season).
That’s part of the reason why the Patriots signed Diggs to a three-year, $69 million contract this offseason.
“He looked a little faster than I thought. He looked pretty fast,” quarterback Drake Maye said. “I think he’s just going to keep getting more comfortable. Shoot, he’s a great player with the ball in his hands. He’s a great leader on this team. He’s great with the energy, being positive, and glad he’s a Patriot.”
On Sunday, when Diggs stepped up on the field, the Patriots scored.
In the Patriots’ third drive, Diggs hauled in a 33-yard deep ball. That marked his longest reception of the season. It also set up a TreVeyon Henderson touchdown run. In the third quarter, Diggs caught a 22-yard pass. Four plays later, Maye hit Hunter Henry for a 31-yard touchdown. Later that quarter, Diggs caught another 30-yard pass. Four plays later, Maye connected with Mack Hollins for a touchdown.
The motivation behind it
Heading into this game, the veteran was admittedly disappointed. He wanted more.
Following a season-ending knee injury, Diggs worked hard so he could start this season. After catching six passes for 57 yards in Week 1, Diggs had a solid starting point. In Week 2, he finished with three receptions for 23 yards. In Week 3, he caught four passes for 32 yards.
Diggs didn’t speak out about his targets. Instead, he challenged himself to step up and lead.
“It was hard for me. Through the past couple of weeks, I wanted to do more, I wanted to show more,” Diggs said. “Be a leader, but I feel like it comes through consistency, especially through practice, guys leaning on you and trusting you that you’re doing the right thing all the time. I feel like part of being a leader is being accountable. Not when everyone is around, but accountable full-time, full circle, and holding guys to a standard, but you can’t hold guys to a standard if you’re not holding yourself. So that’s the biggest thing to me.”
For Diggs, that also meant speaking out.
That’s something Bradbury grew accustomed to in Minnesota. In 2019, he spent his rookie season with Diggs on the Vikings. That year, Diggs caught 63 passes for 1,130 yards and six touchdowns.
Bradbury remembers Diggs not being afraid to speak out and try to energize his teammates.
“He’s always been like that. He’s an emotional player,” Bradbury said. “That’s what makes him good. He plays the game with a passion. He loves the game. He loves his teammates. Anytime we can get a message from a guy that’s played that long at that high of a level, I’m going to listen. And then he goes out there today and has a lot of success, which helps this team a lot.”
That was seen on Sunday.
As for why he speaks pregame, Diggs said he wants to help his teammates.
“It’s important for me to start a pregame speech because I want to get everyone going,” Diggs said. “I’m a high-energy guy, charismatic guy that comes with a lot of energy and a lot of passion. I felt like that’s part of the reason why they brought me here, to be that guy. Just trying to be myself.”
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