Tom Brady's ex-teammate sees Stefon Diggs as perfect veteran leader for Patriots' young receiver room

Julian Edelman believes Stefon Diggs will be the perfect leader for the New England Patriots wide receiver room. Earlier this week, Diggs inked a three-year $69 million deal with the Patriots to join their receiving corps and catch passes from young quarterback Drake Maye.

On Thursday's episode of his podcast, "Dudes on Dudes," with former Patriots teammate Rob Gronkowski, Edelman explained why he believes Diggs will bring a wealth of knowledge to a young receiver room in the Patriots with his 10 seasons worth of experience.

Edelman said,

"He's got a lot of the instances where he's got the mind games with the quarterback, but no one ever second-guesses how hard he works and the amount of work that he puts into his craft. So, if you're getting a motivated Stefon Diggs, like, that could be really beneficial to the young football players in that young football room that they call the receiver room in New England."

Edelman added,

"They have a lot of young football players there. It'd be really good for these younger guys to be able to see how a professional works daily, how a professional prepares daily, how a professional takes care of his body. And if Stefon Diggs is doing that, you got to bring him in because they need a little veteran, they need a little veteran leadership in that room." (38:12)

In 2024, Diggs caught 47 catches for 496 yards and three touchdowns in eight games with the Houston Texans. He was shut down after a Week 8 matchup against the Indianapolis Colts in which he suffered a torn ACL that ended his season.

Stefon Diggs and his unceremonious exit from Buffalo

NFL: Indianapolis Colts at Houston Texans - Source: Imagn

Diggs played for the Buffalo Bills from 2020 to 2023. He established himself as one of the best receivers in the league during that span, catching passes from Josh Allen. However, the relationship between Diggs and the Bills' brass reportedly soured over the years, and the receiver grew frustrated with his situation in Buffalo.

For this reason, the Bills ultimately decided to trade Diggs to the Houston Texans in April of 2024. Now, recovering from his ACL injury, Diggs is hoping to return to form to kick off the next chapter of his career with the Patriots.

Having the opportunity to put up some monster games against the Bills twice a year could certainly be a motivating factor that could elevate his game to the next level.