Stefon Diggs is still sitting out there, and Pro Football Focus just made the case that he’s one of the more intriguing names left on the board.
Dalton Wasserman and Max Chadwick released their Top 32 wide receivers, and Diggs landed at No. 17.
The list started with Puka Nacua of the Los Angeles Rams and finished with Calvin Ridley of the Tennessee Titans, with Tyreek Hill left out of the rankings and given honorable mention status instead. Diggs was the only receiver on the list who is currently attached to a team.
That detail matters. Diggs is coming off a strong rebound season after tearing his ACL eight games into the 2024 campaign with the Houston Texans, then turning around and starting all 17 games for Mike Vrabel’s New England Patriots.
He led the Patriots with 85 catches and 1,013 receiving yards, and he finished third on the team with four touchdown receptions. In the postseason, he played in all four of New England’s games, paced the club with 14 receptions, and hauled in one of Drake Maye’s six playoff touchdown passes.
The one blemish: his 7.9 yards per catch.
PFF’s evaluation was blunt about what Diggs still brings.
“Coming off an ACL tear that ended his 2024 season,” said Pro Football Focus, “Diggs proved during his lone season in New England that he can still be a valuable contributor on a championship contender. He recorded his seventh career 1,000-yard season.
During the regular season, he ranked seventh among qualified wide receivers in yards per route run (2.42) and PFF receiving grade (87.5). He would significantly improve most receiving corps around the league.”
That kind of production is exactly why his name keeps circling back to the Carolina Panthers. Carolina already took a major step forward at the position by drafting Tetairoa McMillan out of Arizona with the eighth overall pick in the 2025 NFL draft. McMillan led Dave Canales’s team in receptions with 70, receiving yards with 1,014 and touchdown catches with seven, and he was named NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year.
The Panthers had been searching for more behind him. In 2024, first-round pick Xavier Legette led the team with 49 catches, while Adam Thielen topped Carolina with only 615 receiving yards and five touchdowns.
Down the stretch and into the playoffs this past season, McMillan and former undrafted free agent Jalen Coker gave Bryce Young a strong combination. General manager Dan Morgan also added University of Tennessee speedster Chris Brazzell II with a third-round pick in April.
Still, Diggs would bring something different: a veteran presence and a long track record of production. He has 58 catches left before reaching 1,000 for his career, and his totals already sit at 11,504 yards and 74 touchdowns. He has also appeared in 18 postseason games, piling up 83 catches for 1,019 yards and five scores.
That playoff résumé is the part Carolina could use most.
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