Just a few days ago, Mike Vrabel hadn’t publicly said a word about Stefon Diggs. All we had were secondhand insights, most notably from NFL insider Albert Breer, who gave us a glimpse into the Patriots coach’s mindset after Diggs’ Memorial Day boat incident. The video? It wasn’t exactly team-friendly PR. Cameras, questionable surroundings, and oh yeah, the small detail that OTAs were happening at the same time. Breer said Vrabel had that necessary “What were you thinking?” conversation. But nothing more.

“By all accounts, that conversation went fine,” Breer told NBC Sports Boston. “It’s not so much just being on a boat on Memorial Day weekend… It’s more like, ‘There are cameras on the boat? What are you (thinking)?’” Vrabel, it seemed, wasn’t furious, but straightforward. As Breer made clear, New England never truly considered cutting ties. The Patriots were already moving forward with Diggs.

But now, Vrabel’s finally broken his silence, and he didn’t dance around the subject. Asked directly about Diggs, the new HC made it clear: “I like his energy.” That was it. Straight to the point. Not a lecture. Not a vague nod. Vrabel’s one-liner said more than a press conference could. He’s not here to micromanage Diggs. He’s here to manage his presence in the locker room.

And presence, Diggs has in spades. He’s stood out in OTAs. Right from the ACL recovery. As Boston.com’s Colin McCarthy wrote: “Diggs is only eight months removed from tearing his ACL, but he still looks like arguably the most explosive wide receiver in the Patriots locker room.” Explosive, quick out of breaks, and noticeably faster than Kayshon Boutte.

Okay, even if this doesn’t cut it. How about getting endorsed by the guy under center? Yes! Drake Maye is all-in on throwing darts to Stefon. Not just that, the young QB is feeling the shift from his disastrous rookie season. Because he knows that a vet like Diggs would only help him expand his game. “Stefon, he’s one of those guys growing up when I was in high school he was young in the league… So it’s pretty cool to hopefully now this season be throwing to him,” Drake said back in May.

Bottom line? Vrabel doesn’t want to tame Diggs—he wants to unleash him. The message is clear: Stefon Diggs’ energy isn’t a problem to solve. It’s a weapon to use. And if all things work accordingly, then Mike will also have a young leader in Drake, throwing darts to a vet in Stefon.

Mike Vrabel wants to get the most out of Drake Maye

Drake Maye was sacked, hit, and hurried. He took 34 hits in 13 games. For a rookie still figuring out NFL speed? That’s brutal. Yet, Maye still posted a passer rating of 88.1, threw for over 2,200 yards, and earned a Pro Bowl nod. Not too shabby for a guy with more pressure in his face than time in the pocket.

Now Year 2 is here, and the message from Mike Vrabel is loud: Maye’s not just the quarterback, he’s the captain, or at least the one in the making. Vrabel has been pushing the 22-year-old into a leadership role. You could see it in practice.

“Call it out! What do you got?” Vrabel told Maye on the goal line last week, letting him choose the play and the cadence. As ESPN’s Mike Reiss put it, “They want the offense to be tight and crisp in the fundamentals.” This was one way to force that.

But Vrabel wasn’t done. He added a wrinkle: a full-squad conditioning drill, centered around Maye’s cadence. Sprint on his snap. No false starts. No early jumps. Just the sound of Maye’s voice guiding the entire offense. Cole Strange was still catching his breath post-practice. And Rhamondre Stevenson? He saw it all from the backfield. “He’s a leader. He has that kind of ‘oomph’ to him.”

The goal here? It’s not just to toughen up the offense physically. It’s to make Maye’s command of the huddle instinctive. Natural. Last year, he deferred to Jacoby Brissett. But this year, it’s his team. Vrabel’s not handing him the keys. He’s making him earn the ignition.