Stefon Diggs reportedly looked astoundingly good in his Patriots OTAs debut
"I would be surprised if he wasn't available at some juncture during training camp."
The viral video of Stefon Diggs on a party boat grabbed headlines last week, but this week the Patriots receiver is back at practice.
The four-time Pro Bowler looked impressive during Monday’s organized team activites (OTA) session in Foxborough, according to NBC Sports Boston’s Tom E. Curran.
“I thought it was astounding,” Curran said during an appearance on Arbella Early Edition. “This is a guy we didn’t think would be available for the beginning of the season, and to see him after not taking part in either of the first two OTAs in a full measure, none at all last week obviously, but to see him taking rep after rep after rep after rep in 11 on 11.”
Players do not wear pads during OTA practices. The drills and scrimmages are non-contact, so it remains to be seen how Diggs looks when full contact is in play.
But, as Diggs continues to recover from a torn ACL that he suffered in October, seeing him run, cut, and show a high level of endurance this early on in the process is an encouraging sign for the Patriots, Curran said.
“They were on the field for 8, 9, 10 plays and he wasn’t tapping out, and he was catching the ball the way an accomplished NFL receiver would,” Curran said. “To me it’s astounding because I’m thinking to myself, ‘is he going to be ready for the beginning of the year? Is he going to be up to speed at that point?’ I would be surprised if he wasn’t available at some juncture during training camp.”
NFL training camps typically start in mid or late-July, as teams ramp up with padded practices ahead of preseason games.
NBC Sports Boston’s Phil Perry pointed out that Diggs did not participate in the most competitive drills of the day, but was involved in the drills where the Patriots were working on their hurry up offense. His performance in the hurry up segment, along with what he showed during individual drills added up to a good start, Perry said.
“He’s splitting hairs as he tends to do,” Curran said of Perry’s comments. “I’m just trying to make a point for the people who are trying to discern what level of performance Stefon Diggs is at. Months ahead of where one would expect [in his recovery].”
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