When the Patriots signed Stefon Diggs to a three-year contract this offseason, it was undoubtedly a low-risk, high-reward type of deal. The Patriots haven't had a playmaker such as Diggs at wide receiver since Julian Edelman retired, and Diggs is a 31-year-old receiver coming off an ACL tear.
One small red flag went up during the offseason when Diggs was spotted partying on a boat holding a pink substance, and a video subsequently circulated online. Some fans even took to the comment sections, begging Eliot Wolf to trade or release Diggs.
But according to NFL.com's Judy Battista, Patriots' fans should not feel apprehensive. Diggs' boat incident was one of five NFL offseason activities among players that fans should not overreact to. Recent OTAs are definite proof of that.
Stefon Diggs' performance on the field will speak for itself
Diggs has spent most of the offseason working out in Florida and appears to be on track to play in Week 1. That's certainly the best-case scenario for the Patriots.
Shortly after the aforementioned video circulated on social media, Diggs was at Gillette Stadium for mandatory OTAs and, frankly, looked like the Stefon Diggs of old. It didn't hurt that head coach Mike Vrabel sent a message that the players need to make sound decisions on and off the field. There's a reason why 99.9 percent of high school football coaches end every postgame huddle with "Don't do anything stupid."
Second-year quarterback Drake Maye has been called a great teammate by Diggs already, a telling sign that the pair could be the dynamic quarterback-wide receiver tandem the Patriots need.
While Diggs did not participate in any full-speed drills during OTAs, it's clear from the work he did put in during the sessions that he looks sharp, healthy, and primed to be on the field in Foxborough in Week 1 when the Patriots host the Raiders.
The Patriots need Diggs' production on the field and his voice off it; the latter is expected to help the young wide receivers grow their own games. People often tend to overreact to things that circulate on social media nowadays, and Diggs' boat incident is just another example of this.