The New England Patriots appear to have hit the jackpot with wide receiver Stefon Diggs.
For those expecting Diggs to be more trouble than he’s worth, especially coming off a torn ACL on the wrong side of 30, that hasn’t been remotely close to the case over the first two months of the 2025 regular season.
While Diggs is leading the Patriots’ young wide receiver group in every major category (outside of touchdowns), he’s operating as more of a role player than an alpha WR1 in Josh McDaniels' offense. He’s also emerged as the vocal leader the Patriots desperately need, as 23-year-old quarterback Drake Maye continues to develop and find his voice.
Diggs’ leadership was on full display during New England’s marquee win at Buffalo. He added another layer last week, when ESPN’s Mike Reiss reported that the Patriots’ entire offensive line was treated to dinner with Diggs’ personal chef; the linemen gathered at the home of center Garrett Bradbury, and were even able to pick the menu ahead of time.
"(Patriots lineman Ben) Brown said the menu included burgers, wings, steak, baked beans, salad and desserts, among other things," Reiss wrote. "The idea came up over breakfast at the stadium, when Diggs mentioned he did something similar for the receivers and would like to do it for the linemen as well. He said the group could put together a custom menu."
Pacing the sidelines and imploring teammates to keep going during a game. Delivering the right messages through the media. Taking care of the offensive line and wide receivers. These are all skills that Maye will undoubtedly learn from Diggs and put into practice in short order.
In fact, Maye made moves to playfully upstage his go-to receiver this week — and Bradbury and company are the ones reaping all the benefits.
Patriots QB Drake Maye treats O-line to dinner at his house — with a hibachi twist
The student becomes the teacher.
Diggs’ gesture was pure class, but Maye took it to another level ahead of Sunday's game in Nashville against the Tennessee Titans. According to Reiss, the quarterback hired a hibachi chef and invited the offensive line group to his house for their weekly Thursday night feast.
From the Patriots locker room: After WR Stefon Diggs had his personal chef cook for offensive linemen at their weekly Thursday dinner last week, QB Drake Maye stepped in to host this week at his house — with a hibachi chef.
— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) October 17, 2025
The hibachi touch just fits Maye’s fun-loving personality. It’s also great to see the young quarterback take a page out of Diggs’ playbook and quickly put it into practice.
From taking care of his teammates with gifts — Tom Brady once gifted Uggs Boots to the entire team — to organizing offseason workouts away from Foxboro, Maye’s leadership skills off the field should only continue to grow, along with his on-field prowess.
The only real question at this point is: What does Milton Williiams, Christian Barmore and the big boys on defense have to do to get a meal around here?