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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 \u201cQuarterback,\u201d 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.<\/p>\n
It wasn\u2019t long ago that the Patriots dominated this type of content. We obsessively watched \u201cDo Your Job\u201d documentaries, debated what Brady really meant when he \u201cplead[ed] the fifth\u201d with Jim Gray, and argued that Julian Edelman and Devin McCourty were criminally under-ranked.<\/p>\n
Today, the Patriots aren\u2019t nationally relevant enough to be involved in a show such as \u201cQuarterback.\u201d The only videos they appear in now are ones they produce themselves, such as Kraft Sports\u2019 \u201cForged in Foxborough,\u201d or from Stefon Diggs\u2019s boat party in Miami.<\/p>\n
And they\u2019re not talented enough, according to their peers, to make an impact on the top 100 or top 10 lists. Christian Gonzalez came in at No. 84 on the top 100, and safety Kyle Dugger landed on \u201calso receiving votes\u201d for his position ranking, but don\u2019t hold your breath expecting to see other Patriots appear on either list as they get revealed over the next week.<\/p>\n
All of which leads to another interesting quote from Kraft \u2014 this one from the first episode of \u201cForged,\u201d the team\u2019s behind-the-scenes show. Meeting Diggs in his office after the receiver signed his contract in March, Kraft turned to Diggs\u2019s mother and said, \u201cWe\u2019ve been waiting to have someone of your son\u2019s caliber.\u201d<\/p>\n
That comment has double meaning. One, the Patriots desperately need a No. 1 receiver for young quarterback Drake Maye. Last year\u2019s receiver room was the worst in the NFL. Diggs is 31 and coming off a torn ACL<\/a> but previously went to four straight Pro Bowls with the Bills. In theory, Diggs is the best receiver the Patriots have had since the prime days of Edelman and Rob Gronkowski nearly a decade ago.<\/p>\n But two, Kraft has been waiting for someone of Diggs\u2019s off-field caliber to make the Patriots consequential again. The Patriots have budding football stars in Maye and Gonzalez, but neither yet has Diggs\u2019s crossover appeal. Diggs is Big Time \u2014 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\u2019t had a player this popular on a national scale since Cam Newton in 2020.<\/p>\n![\"Patriots](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/7NA2M53KMVFQ7GLXIQJ52JTG5I.jpg\")
Patriots receiver Stefon Diggs attended the Met Gala in May.Dia Dipasupil\/Getty<\/p>\n