I hear that Stefon Diggs was moving around decently at practices in New England. If he’s reasonably healthy, his experience and alpha personality should allow him to climb to the top of the receiving heap there.
They don’t have a whole lot else. DeMario Douglas is a neat little slot receiver. Maybe they get lucky with third-rounder Kyle Williams. They took Ja’Lynn Polk in the second round last year, but he was a disaster as a rookie. They signed Mack Hollins, who played with Josh McDaniels in Las Vegas. Kayshon Boutte? Kendrick Bourne?
If Diggs is fully recovered from that ACL tear, he should be their No. 1.
At the same time, Diggs is nearing the end of the road. He’s 31 (and he’ll be 32 in November). And he didn’t get downfield much at all in Houston last year, averaging only 10.6 yards per catch. That’s partially due to how they were using him, but I don’t think he’s a downfield guy anymore.
Anywho, on this front, I thought it would make sense to take a look at other older receivers trying to come back after missing significant playing time the previous year.
In the chart below, everyone was at least 32 years old (at the end of the season). The “rank” number shows where the player ranked among wide receivers, using PPR scoring. I see four guys with top-20 numbers. But there are a bunch of others coming in around 40th. That seems like a fair landing spot for Diggs (if healthy).
In the chart, guys tagged with black dots are with new teams.
| 32-PLUS AND TRYING TO COME BACK | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Player | Age | G | No | Yds | TD | Rk | (G No-Yds-TD) |
| 2006 | • Terrell Owens, Dall. | 33 | 16 | 85 | 1180 | 13 | 2 | (7 47-763-6) |
| 2005 | Joey Galloway, T.B. | 34 | 16 | 83 | 1287 | 10 | 7 | (10 33-416-6) |
| 2007 | Bobby Engram, Sea. | 34 | 16 | 94 | 1147 | 6 | 12 | (7 24-290-1) |
| 2005 | Keenan McCardell, S.D. | 35 | 16 | 70 | 917 | 9 | 17 | (7 31-393-1) |
| 2004 | • Keyshawn Johnson, Dall. | 32 | 16 | 70 | 981 | 6 | 26 | (10 45-600-3) |
| 2008 | Marvin Harrison, Ind. | 36 | 15 | 60 | 636 | 5 | 36 | (5 20-247-1) |
| 2016 | Steve Smith, Balt. | 37 | 14 | 70 | 799 | 5 | 37 | (7 46-670-3) |
| 2002 | Ed McCaffrey, Den. | 34 | 16 | 69 | 903 | 2 | 37 | (1 6-94-1) |
| 2014 | Malcom Floyd, S.D. | 33 | 16 | 52 | 856 | 6 | 40 | (2 6-149-0) |
| 2007 | Amani Toomer, NYG | 33 | 16 | 59 | 760 | 3 | 41 | (8 32-360-3) |
| 2007 | • David Patten, N.O. | 33 | 16 | 54 | 792 | 3 | 43 | (5 1-25-0) |
| 2014 | Reggie Wayne, Ind. | 36 | 15 | 64 | 779 | 2 | 50 | (7 38-503-2) |
| 2012 | • Brandon Stokley, Den. | 36 | 15 | 45 | 544 | 5 | 60 | (2 1-7-0) |
| 2021 | Antonio Brown, T.B. | 33 | 7 | 42 | 545 | 4 | 60 | (8 45-483-4) |
| 2020 | • Antonio Brown, T.B. | 32 | 8 | 45 | 483 | 4 | 65 | (1 4-56-1) |
| 2025 | • Stefon Diggs, N.E. | 32 | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | (8 47-496-3) |
As long as we have the numbers out, I’ll also give you the 31-year-old receivers. These guys are slightly younger than Diggs (who’s 31 now but turns 32 in November).
| 31-YEAR-OLDS COMING OFF PARTIAL SEASONS | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Player | G | No | Yds | TD | PPK | Rk | (G No-Yds-TD) |
| 2012 | Andre Johnson, Hou. | 16 | 112 | 1598 | 4 | 295.8 | 6 | (7 33-492-2) |
| 2023 | Keenan Allen, LAC | 13 | 108 | 1243 | 7 | 281.4 | 8 | (10 66-752-4) |
| 2005 | Terry Glenn, Dall. | 16 | 62 | 1136 | 8 | 223.2 | 15 | (6 24-400-2) |
| 2023 | • DeAndre Hopkins, Ten. | 17 | 75 | 1057 | 7 | 223.6 | 22 | (9 64-717-3) |
| 2005 | • Joe Jurevicius, Sea. | 16 | 55 | 694 | 10 | 184.4 | 29 | (10 27-333-2) |
| 2020 | T.Y. Hilton, Ind. | 15 | 56 | 762 | 5 | 164.2 | 42 | (10 45-501-5) |
| 2007 | • Brandon Stokley, Den. | 13 | 40 | 635 | 5 | 132.9 | 53 | (4 8-85-1) |
—Ian Allan