The NFL free-agent market for receivers had been at a standstill, with veteran stars Stefon Diggs, Amari Cooper and Keenan Allen still looking for work.
Would the Green Bay Packers, who could use a veteran receiver to supplement their young group, make one last big splash into free agency?
Probably not. At least not at the price commanded by Diggs, who agreed to a three-year contract worth up to $69 million with the New England Patriots on Tuesday night, according to reports. The $23.0 million average is slightly higher than the $22.0 million average in Davante Adams’ two-year contract with the Rams.
It’s a staggering contract for Diggs, who will turn 32 in November and is coming off a torn ACL. In eight games in 2024, he was productive in terms of volume – 47 receptions for 496 yards – but his 10.6-average was the second-lowest of his 10-year career.
The “up to” language, of course, could be filled with phony-baloney dollars that never will be earned. Nonetheless, the Patriots are paying No. 1-receiver money to a receiver who no longer is a No. 1.
That’s not to say Diggs is no longer a quality receiver and that he won’t help second-year Patriots quarterback Drake Maye. Or that he wouldn’t have helped Packers quarterback Jordan Love.
Acquired from Buffalo last year, Diggs in a half-season with Houston caught 74.6 percent of his targeted passes, had just one drop (2.0 percent), turned 66 percent of his receptions into first downs and provided C.J. Stroud with a 106.3 passer rating when targeted.
The catch percentage was the third-best in his career, the drop rate was the lowest, the first-down percentage was better than his career mark of 60.0 percent and the passer rating was slightly better than his career mark of 104.5.
Still, Diggs is coming off a serious injury near the end of his career. He already had lost some of his explosiveness. Last year, according to Sports Info Solutions, his average target came 8.3 yards downfield. That’s the shortest of his career; the average target ranged from 10.6 yards to 15.4 yards the previous five seasons.
Catching short passes is fine if the receiver can make something happen after the catch. However, Diggs broke only three tackles and averaged 4.0 YAC per reception, according to Pro Football Focus.
When the Packers beat the Texans in Week 7, Diggs caught five passes for just 23 yards.
Based on Diggs’ contract, the door probably is closed on the Packers getting one of the top remaining veterans. If it hadn’t been closed, locked and barricaded earlier.
With Christian Watson dealing with his own torn ACL, it will be up to the returning group of Romeo Doubs, who has fallen short of 700 yards all three years and is coming off two late-season concussions, Dontayvion Wicks and Jayden Reed, who had the second- and third-highest drop percentages in the NFL, and Bo Melton and Malik Heath, who haven’t had any sustained success.
“You’d like to have somebody move into that space,” general manager Brian Gutekunst said of having a veteran No. 1 receiver, “but, at the same time, I’d like multiple guys to be able to move into that space. What I’m looking for is guys that when they’re called upon can perform at a high level. I think we have a lot of guys that have done that and are moving into that space.”
The Packers did sign one veteran receiver, Mecole Hardman, but the 2019 second-round pick has 214 receiving yards the last two years.
With the veteran market too rich for Gutekunst, the pressure will be on whatever touted receiver he picks in the early rounds.
On Tuesday, he was at Texas’ pro day to see Matthew Golden, who is considered a first-round prospect, and Isaiah Bond, who will have a predraft visit with the Packers. Gutekunst was the only GM at the individual pro day held by Arizona star Tet McMillan.
The Packers, famously, haven’t drafted a receiver in the first round since Javon Walker in 2002. Regardless of whether that will change this year, the Packers will need to find an instant contributor – something that’s become more common because of the evolution of the game at the lower levels.
“There was a time where the receiver position was really hard to come into the league for the first couple years and make an impact,” Gutekunst said. “We’ve seen that change. Just the way these guys are coming up through high school and college football is different than it used to be that allows these guys to make a bigger impact earlier.”