The AFC East division got a little weaker on Wednesday with the Buffalo Bills agreeing to a trade that sent four-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Stefon Diggs to the Houston Texans.
Josh Allen not having his best receiving weapon is an automatic benefit for the New England Patriots considering they’ll be facing him twice this year. Not only have the Bills lost Diggs, but they’ve also lost Gabriel Davis. It’s like Thanos snapped and the top-two wideouts in Buffalo are suddenly gone.
The thought of playing a weakened Bills team is a good thing for the Patriots, but more importantly, the hope should be the potential C.J. Stroud domino effect.
For years, the Houston Texans have been laughed at and perceived as one of the joke franchises in the NFL. Then they selected Stroud at No. 2 overall in the 2023 NFL draft, won a playoff game and are now having the sort of offseason that has them looking like a legitimate Super Bowl contender in 2024.
As Sirius XM’s Geoff Schwartz put it, selecting the right rookie quarterback can change a franchise immediately.
Hitting on a rookie QB immediately changes your franchise. https://t.co/GTtfl9ukiH
— Geoff Schwartz (@geoffschwartz) April 3, 2024
No one is laughing at the Texans now.
The Patriots are in a rare position with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft. This is a draft where the No. 1 pick at quarterback could be interchangeable between three players: Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels and Drake Maye.
Not only could hitting on one of those players drastically improve the on-field product for the Patriots immediately, but it would also make New England a significantly more attractive destination for free agents. That means no more hearing owner Robert Kraft blame a failed signing on state income tax and the player’s significant other (yes, that happened).
If anything, this proves how vital it is to have the right man under center to even have a chance to compete for championships. The Patriots were spoiled with nearly 20 years of Tom Brady, and now, they’re trudging their way through the same hamster wheel of finding a quarterback that has entrapped teams for decades.
There are no guarantees that drafting Maye or Daniels will get them off that wheel, but there’s also no doubt that both prospects give them their best chance of doing so.