‘When he’s rolling, he’s hard to stop’
New England Patriots center Garrett Bradbury spent the first six seasons of his career with the Minnesota Vikings.
It was his rookie season when he first had the opportunity to play with Stefon Diggs. The 6-foot-3, 300-pound veteran was thrilled to see his former teammate when the Patriots began their offseason program on Monday.
“I was fired up to see him,” Bradbury told reporters at Gillette Stadium on Thursday, per team-provided video. “I was a young guy, and he was obviously a superstar receiver, so there were some things I can learn from him. And he wasn’t big-time, right? Coming to the NFL as a rookie, and you obviously know their names, and you don’t know if they’re going to care about you, talk to you. But he loved the O-line, and so I had a good relationship with him.
“Played against him when he was in Buffalo, played against him when he was in Houston. So, when I saw him for the first time (here), I was pretty fired up to see him, and his talent speaks for itself. So, (he’s) a good weapon to have.”
Bradbury only played the 2019 season with Diggs before the star wideout was traded to the Bills. He knows firsthand how essential Diggs can be for the Patriots offense.
“How competitive he is. When you have these superstar receivers … I played with some good ones, you want them to be like that, right?” Bradbury said. “You want them to have belief in their talent. You want them to want the ball. And when he’s rolling, he’s hard to stop. And so, it’s ‘how can we all work together?’
“We need him to get involved. I know the coaches are going to do a good job of that. But you want competitive teammates. I see that in Drake (Maye). Diggs, I saw that firsthand.”