After years of inconsistency on offense, the New England Patriots finally have a direction. Yet, as expectations begin to rise, one question continuously lingers: whether the Patriots can gain the reliability that once kept the offense going in crucial situations. According to one former Super Bowl champion, that answer may not be as straight as expected.

“It is just interesting to me because that guy (Stefon Diggs) was a big part to me of what made them (New England Patriots) successful and kept them on the field, kept drives alive,” said former guard Mark Schlereth on The Rich Eisen Show, 22 August.

“So, it’ll be really interesting to see how they replace that particular dude because, honestly, you look at AJ Brown, he plays a different position to me. You know, he’s not that guy who’s going to be in the slot and going to be, you know, running those option routes underneath and all that stuff.”

While appearing on The Reich Eisen Show, the three-time Super Bowl champion Mark Schlereth evaluated New England’s offensive outlook. He pointed out that replacing Stefon Diggs, who made the offense so effective, is not as simple as adding just another wide receiver.

Schlereth’s comments showed the difference between production and function. A.J. Brown has been one of the NFL’s most dominant outside receivers since he was drafted in 2019 by the Tennessee Titans and joined the Philadelphia Eagles in 2022.

The three-time Pro Bowl was key to the Eagles’ Super Bowl LIX title, recording three catches for 43 yards and one touchdown. His TD came on a 12-yard pass from QB Jalen Hurts in the second quarter, contributing six points to the Eagles’ dominant 40-11 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs.

Diggs for the Patriots did incredible work, which is what propelled the Patriots to a Super Bowl appearance.

“The one guy that was kind of the chain mover, the one guy that was kind of the actuator in the passing game of the offense, if you will, is Stefon Diggs,” said Schlereth. “He had 85 catches for 100 or a thousand and like thousand and whatever, thousand and change, five whatever. That dude was a third-down machine. That dude ran all the underneath routes. He ran in the middle of the field underneath the routes. And he was just like he was a security blanket.”

Diggs’ value came from his ability to control, create separation on option routes, and consistently turn key third-down situations. Schlereth believes those responsibilities need a different skill than the one Brown possesses.

However, the new Patriots WR has been in the league for a while now, and he is a player Vrabel has coached during his time with the Titans. Although there have been question marks over his ability to adjust to teams, the buy-in to Vrabel’s system should not be hard. While he may have different attributes to Diggs, on his day Brown can be the best WR in the NFL, and this is something he has proven several times.