That said, why not let him elevate a true WR1, like Brady with 2007 Moss? [Not a plug for Aiyuk, just the general idea of a clear WR1.]
Seems like Maye has shown that there's a tradeoff on efficiency when you have WRs taking up 150+ targets a season like Justin Jefferson or another "elite" WR getting @150 targets with a 60% completion rate for 84 catches
The Maye/McDaniels and their spread offense allows a guy like Diggs to pick up 85 catches - but on only 100 targets
That's 50% more targets for Jefferson than Diggs, but less catches. Meanwhile those 50 other targets are going to guys like Henderson, Stevenson, Hollins, etc. who, like Diggs, have a high catch rate, again in part because the ball IS spread.
So even though I was very concerned about Diggs' health and ability to be a deep threat and consistent WR before the season when I wanted to see them add a true elite WR, I'd MUCH rather see them continue to have an efficient, spread offense.
Brady's style was different than Maye - Maye seems to trust all his WRs whereas it was clear that if a receiver got into Brady's dog house, he just wasn't going to get the targets. Meanwhile Moss, Welker, Edelman etc certainly had Brady's confidence and would get @ 150 targets a season, but there was no mystery for DCs on where the ball was going most of the time.
For Maye and the Patriots, the fact that DCs never know where it's going in a spread offense and double team Diggs or anyone to their own detriment, makes today's offense much more effective in "must catch" situations.
Abandoning that for an outdated "give 300 targets to two WRs" doesn't strike me as a wise strategic move, and would really be a waste of a big salary at WR, making it potentially less efficient, not more.