Wins would be nice, but it's also important that the Patriots bring the fun back to Foxborough this season
For his Patriots have become the NFL's biggest bore since Tom Brady left before the 2020 season.
They are the only NFL team without a 1,000-yard receiver (or even 900 yards) in the five years since. They haven't won a playoff game. They haven't had an offensive player elected to the Pro Bowl since 2018. They are 31st in offensive touchdowns the past two years, ahead of only the Giants. And Gillette Stadium has been lifeless and half-empty come December.
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The Patriots do have hope, with
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That point has been driven home this week through a trove of entertaining NFL media content. Netflix released its seven-part series 'Quarterback,' following Joe Burrow, Kirk Cousins, and Jared Goff behind the scenes throughout the 2024 season. NFL Network also is slowly releasing its annual top 100 players list, while ESPN is revealing its top 10 player rankings from an anonymous survey of coaches, scouts, and executives.
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It wasn't long ago that the Patriots dominated this type of content. We obsessively watched 'Do Your Job' documentaries, debated what Brady really meant when he 'plead[ed] the fifth' with Jim Gray, and argued that Julian Edelman and Devin McCourty were criminally under-ranked.
Today, the Patriots aren't nationally relevant enough to be involved in a show such as 'Quarterback.' The only videos they appear in now are ones they produce themselves, such as Kraft Sports' 'Forged in Foxborough,' or from Stefon Diggs's boat party in Miami.
And they're not talented enough, according to their peers, to appear on the top 100 or top 10 Tlists. Through Wednesday, no Patriots player had appeared on either list or received even one vote, including running back Rhamondre Stevenson and big-ticket defensive linemen Milton Williams and Christian Barmore. There are eight positions and 80 players still to be revealed, but don't hold your breath expecting to see any Patriots.
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All of which leads to another interesting quote from Kraft — this one from the first episode of 'Forged,' the team's behind-the-scenes show. Meeting Diggs in his office after the receiver signed his contract in March, Kraft turned to Diggs's mother and said, 'We've been waiting to have someone of your son's caliber.'
That comment has double meaning. One, the Patriots desperately need a No. 1 receiver for young quarterback Drake Maye. Last year's receiver room was the worst in the NFL.
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But two, Kraft has been waiting for someone of Diggs's off-field caliber to make the Patriots consequential again. The Patriots have budding football stars in Maye and cornerback Christian Gonzalez, but neither yet has Diggs's crossover appeal. Diggs is Big Time — he dates Cardi B, attends the Met Gala, and is all over the tabloid media, as evidenced by the kerfuffle created by his Miami boat party. The Patriots haven't had a player this popular on a national scale since Cam Newton in 2020.
Patriots receiver Stefon Diggs attended the Met Gala in May.
Dia Dipasupil/Getty
Diggs's boat video created some chatter that
But Diggs shouldn't fret. The Patriots need him — both for his on-field prowess and off-field buzz — far more than he needs them. The Patriots have an awful reputation among players as being joyless, and a black hole for receivers. DeAndre Hopkins, Calvin Ridley, and Brandon Aiyuk refused to come to Foxborough in recent years.
Diggs, though, can reverse both narratives with a fun, productive season. Conversely, were the Patriots to fail Diggs on his physical and release him, it would be an epic disaster. He would get another job quickly, and the Patriots might never sign another free agent receiver again.
So Diggs is here not just to give Maye another weapon, but to make the Patriots fun again.
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Kraft, 84, doesn't just want to win games this fall. He wants to light up the scoreboard, play in the biggest games, and make sure the Patriots aren't ignored in next summer's media projects.
Ben Volin can be reached at
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