Stefon Diggs Looks IMPRESSIVE - Patriots 2025 Training Camp Recap (Day 1) - video Dailymotion

Beasley Digital

Following the Patriots first training camp practice, Alex Barth and Scott Zolak sat down and discussed the team's performance. While discussing the performance of the receivers, both Barth and Zolak agreed that Stefon Diggs looked impressive, and seemed to be over his knee injury from last season.

Transcript

00:00Welcome into the first training camp practice report of 2025, brought to you by Safety Insurance.

00:05I'm Alex Barth, alongside Scott Zolak here above practice fields at July Stadium.

00:09We're sponsored.

00:10Holy cow, we're sponsored.

00:11Safety Insurance.

00:12Nice.

00:12I know Zoe can't wait to talk some Patriots football, so we'll get right into it.

00:16First day of training camp in the books, and we'll get to Drake May.

00:18Obviously, he's a story.

00:20I actually want to start with the wide receivers today, Zoe.

00:22I thought it was a good day all around, and that starts with Stephon Diggs.

00:25He's cleared for practice, moving around well.

00:27He still caught May's first pass of the summer.

00:30I was impressed by what I saw from him today.

00:32Clearly, still not 100%, but boy, is he far along for a guy eight months off the ACL.

00:37He looks great.

00:38He continues to pick up right where we left off with all the off-season workouts, the videos we've seen, the minicamp stuff.

00:44He's just a different guy.

00:45When watching the drills from up there, you're down closer.

00:48He just moves differently, Alex.

00:50It's going to be fun.

00:51I just hope he stays healthy.

00:53I hope Josh is able to use him the way he did when he had other number one guys,

00:57whether it was Gronkowski, whether it was Edelman back in the day.

01:00Everything looks good.

01:02Everything looks good with him right now.

01:03Something else I really liked from him, I don't know if you got a chance to listen to him after practice talking to the media,

01:09but a really measured approach.

01:11He was kind of asked about picking up the playbook.

01:13He said, I'm still studying.

01:14I'm still learning.

01:15I'm excited for the playbook.

01:16He was at success, but I'm still learning.

01:18He was asked about just kind of rehabbing off the ACL.

01:20He said, it's taking time.

01:21I'm putting the time in.

01:22I'm making the progress.

01:23His approach as a whole, he mentioned, don't ride the roller coaster, right?

01:27You've got to trust the process.

01:28He trusts the process of that.

01:30It's a real 180 from last year when we had these receivers talking about, well, you know, we're underrated as a group.

01:36We're one of the best groups in the league.

01:38Jalen Polk, I have the best hands in the league, right?

01:40And when you talk about what Diggs is going to bring, not just on the field but off,

01:43that felt like an example of his approach, a more patient, day-to-day approach, not looking for that home run right away.

01:51You hope that's something he's instilling, not just in the receivers but everybody, but in these young receivers off the field.

01:57He's a good interviewer, period.

01:58I think he wants to give you a lot.

02:00I think he's being careful.

02:01Like, he's trying to pace himself, too.

02:03I think he's excited to be here.

02:05I think he feels good, which makes him look good, talk good, all of it.

02:08Like, it all comes with you.

02:09You know, he's got that swagger, and that's going to be good for Drake.

02:13It really is a guy in his ear, too.

02:15Having a good guy that he can throw to.

02:17He's got a good rapport on Hunter Henry.

02:19And I just think, you know, you're going to have to spread the ball on this offense.

02:22It's not going to be just one guy you're going to throw to.

02:24And Josh won't let him do that.

02:26Josh will make him spread it out.

02:27And that's how you keep the defense balanced.

02:29So that's something I like from Drake May today.

02:31In the spring, it felt very, Hunter Henry was pop Douglas, heavy volume.

02:35Those guys both had catches today, but no receiver in more than two catches.

02:38The only guys that had two were Diggs and Kyle Williams, who we'll get to.

02:42I think that's an encouraging sign for Drake May, that he's comfortable.

02:45That shows a comfort in the offense to me, that he's not just throwing to the same guys repeatedly,

02:49but he's really spreading the ball around.

02:50Yeah, and that's going to be imperative for him, too, to lower the turnovers.

02:55I'm not worried about that with Drake.

02:56I didn't see him make the second mistake over and over again.

02:59Like, he corrected his mistakes.

03:00He would make different ones.

03:02But advancing his thing as he goes, that's all going to help him.

03:06And then incorporating the run, I think having a good third down back now with Henderson here,

03:10like, that's going to help him a ton.

03:12They didn't have that last year.

03:13You mentioned not repeating the mistakes.

03:14His one iffy throw, he said after practice, he liked to have it back.

03:17He had Paul Douglas on a deep crosser in the first 11-on-11, underthrew it,

03:21probably should have been there.

03:21He had to take the shots, man.

03:22He had to take some shots.

03:23Now's the time to make the mistakes.

03:25And so he comes back in that next period.

03:26Hunter Henry with Robert Spillane right on him, up the seam, boom, on the back shoulder.

03:30Perfect timing.

03:31Perfect placement.

03:32You like that bounce back.

03:33Speaking of that back shoulder throw, Kyle Williams had two catches today.

03:36One where he gets the top of the route on a comeback, beats Christian Gonzalez in the hand fight,

03:40comes back, catches the ball.

03:42Again, no real volume for any of these receivers.

03:45But for what we saw, I thought Kyle Williams had a good first day.

03:47You've got to be able to pluck the football.

03:48That's one thing.

03:49He reminds me of Malcolm Mitchell a little bit.

03:50Because Malcolm used to have the big white hands, the white gloves.

03:53He would snag the ball like that.

03:55Malcolm would catch the ball wherever it was, at its peak, at its lowest point, anything.

03:58Great hands, great hand-eye coordination.

04:01And that's what works in the Josh McDaniels offense.

04:03You've got to be a hands catcher.

04:04Right.

04:04You've got to be a hands catcher.

04:05Do you see any Brady Cooks in his game, Kyle Williams?

04:08No.

04:09I feel like there's a little bit of that smaller X receiver.

04:11To be fair, I haven't watched him close enough yet.

04:13Okay.

04:14I just think that smaller X receiver, that was kind of something that was speculated after the draft pick.

04:18Like, all right, he's not built like an X, but it seems like they want him to play the X.

04:21Dion's another one.

04:22I've heard the Dion comp for him, too.

04:24That's another good comp.

04:24If it's a Dion comp, that's great.

04:26I've heard that one as well.

04:27Dion's a perfect X.

04:29Anything else for you on the offense?

04:30More on Drake May?

04:31I mean, the catch that was on the back shoulder there that he plucked, it would have been a sack because there was a blitz.

04:36Yeah.

04:36I think 87 missed the block at the time.

04:38Phil Perry alerted me to that.

04:40I thought that was it.

04:42And you're going to have those run-throughs on defense.

04:44You're going to get the pads on Monday.

04:46But I think these next four days are just install a little bit, do your drills.

04:49It wasn't a big team-heavy period here to end the practice.

04:53So those will increase as it goes.

04:54I will say the defense looks fast.

04:56And we'll see how that holds up when the pads come on.

04:58Athletic.

04:59They got quicker on defense in the offseason.

05:01That was a goal, and you saw it today.

05:02One more thing on the offense for me.

05:04Jared Wilson got some reps as the starting center, the rookie.

05:07We saw him rotate in.

05:09I think that's a real competition.

05:10It's a kid from Georgia, right?

05:10Yeah.

05:11Georgia center's worked out well here in the past, right?

05:13They like him.

05:14Yes.

05:14I think he has a real chance to start week one.

05:16That feels like a real competition to me.

05:18Everybody's talking about left guard.

05:19It was Cole Strange today pretty much the whole day.

05:21I'm not saying that's not a competition.

05:23I wouldn't be surprised if Strange is some competition at some point.

05:26I think Garrett Bradbury and Jared Wilson is a real back and forth.

05:29That's interesting.

05:30It's interesting because, you know, I'm for picking five guys and rolling with them.

05:34I think if you keep substituting them, you don't get used to playing.

05:36No, you want the continuity.

05:37Yeah, I want continuity.

05:38I think that's been a big problem here.

05:40Too many musical chairs both to tackle in both guard positions.

05:43Yeah.

05:44All right.

05:44But we might have a center battle coming.

05:46We'll have more on that.

05:47Big center battle.

05:48Barth will be knocking them around.

05:49You know I'm all over center battle.

05:50Anything on the defense before we wrap it up?

05:52I'm with you.

05:53They look athletic.

05:54They look athletic.

05:55I think it's good to have Tyrell Williams back.

05:57You know, to have him actually out there instead of on Zoom, that'll do wonders for them.

06:00Yeah, hand-to-hand, being able to grab guys and coach them.

06:04Having him back, they got Kyle Duggar back.

06:06He was limited all spring.

06:07Marcus Epps, another safety, was limited all spring.

06:09He's back.

06:10But those guys, again, will come into the picture more.

06:12When the pads come on in a few days, we'll have plenty more to get to.

06:14Before that, Zoe and I will be back with you each day after training camp.

06:17Every day?

06:18Every day.

06:19Well, I don't think you're here on the weekends.

06:20Yeah, you won't see me.

06:21I'll have somebody else on the weekends.

06:23I'll miss you, Zoe.

06:23But I'll be here every day.

06:24Zoe will be here every weekday to recap these practices, go over what we saw.

06:27And, of course, myself, Matt Dolph, we have plenty more coming on 98.5thesportshub.com

06:32and more coverage on the Sports Hub YouTube channel.

06:34So, Zoe, we'll get back to it tomorrow.

06:36Sounds good, man.

06:36Until then, for Scott Zolak, I'm Alex Barth.

06:38Thanks for tuning in again.

06:39We'll be back tomorrow with Patriots practice training camp practice report brought to you

06:43by Safety Insurance.

Stefon Diggs Looks IMPRESSIVE - Patriots 2025 Training Camp Recap (Day 1)

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