Kyle Williams Selfless Decision Drew Interest From Patriots

The New England Patriots spent the free agency portion of the offseason replenishing their defense by adding several stars. Among others, they signed Super Bowl hero defensive tackle Milton Williams, cornerback Carlton Davis, and edge rusher Harold Landry. They also circled back to add a wide receiver in the form of former All-Pro Stefon Diggs.

The 2025 NFL Draft was all about building the rest of the offense around Drake Maye. New England rounded out their offensive line by selecting LSU offensive tackle Will Campbell in the first round, and then took a pair of skill position players in running back TreVeyon Henderson and wide receiver Kyle Williams.

Williams, in particular, is the player who will hold a lot of responsibilities and expectations. He will all but certainly have a starting role in the offense, meaning Maye will be calling his number each and every week. But what made the Patriots want Williams in the first place? According to Mike Reiss of ESPN, it was a selfless choice he made to close his college career.

"He had one game remaining in his college career, but with Washington State in the midst of a coaching transition and more than 20 teammates immediately entering the transfer portal, the question was: Would he play in the Holiday Bowl?" Reiss writes. "To Williams, however, there wasn't a decision to make -- he was always playing. Such a mentality appealed to the Patriots, who selected Williams in the third round of the NFL draft (No. 69 overall) and project him as a speedy, versatile complement to veteran free agent signees Stefon Diggs and Mack Hollins and top slot option DeMario "Pop" Douglas, among others."

The Patriots' receiving corps will have multiple players that will serve different roles, but the rookie from Washington will have a bigger role than most, and the Patriots are confident he will answer the call.

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The New England Patriots made a big-time addition to their wideout unit this offseason with the signing of Stefon Diggs, coming aboard from the Houston Texans on a three-year deal worth up to $69 million.

Diggs, one of the more productive receivers in recent league history, comes off an interesting season with Houston, one where he remained a solid component in C.J. Stroud's arsenal, but was limited to only eight games due to a season-ending ACL tear that disrupted his 10th-year pro.

Inevitably, the injury has led to a few lingering questions as to how he could look within his new situation with New England. Will Diggs be ready before Week One of next season? How will he look once he's back? Will he be able to get back to 100% production at age 32?

It remains to be seen how those may play out, but when asking a few of his teammates in the building, Diggs has already made a noticeable impression with how he's looking on the field.

The latest praise for New England's free agent addition comes from Patriots veteran tight end Austin Hooper, who called Diggs "a freak" during his early interactions with him.

"Energy, man. He's a freak. You can see him already with the explosion, the change of direction, the top end [speed]. It's like, 'Dang, it must be nice," Hooper said.

Diggs' last fully healthy campaign was with the Buffalo Bills in 2023, when he logged 107 catches for 1,183 yards and eight touchdowns from Josh Allen, leading to the fourth Pro Bowl selection of his career and sixth 1,000-yard season since entering the league.

For the Patriots, getting Diggs back to full strength would be a massive boost to this offense's ceiling and, in turn, the further development of a rising quarterback like Drake Maye.

The last time a New England receiver was able to log over 1,000 receiving yards came in 2019 with Julian Edelman. It's been a long time coming for the Patriots to get their aspired number one target in the offense, and perhaps Diggs can be just that for the 2025 season.