FOXBORO -- Stefon Diggs knows his reputation precedes him. He's a fiery competitor. At times that competitiveness has boiled over. It's gotten in the way.

But during his introductory press conference at One Patriot Place on Friday, the 31-year-old said he tries not to allow those emotions to spill over in that fashion anymore.

"When I was younger, I would say you get in trouble a little bit, as far as being so competitive," he said. "Not from the standpoint of winning and losing, but mindset. Don't let it get you off your game and being too aggressive and being in the mindframe of, 'I want to do this, that and the third...'

"I feel like now at this point, the madder I get, the more focused I get. I'd rather beat you than argue with you." 

Diggs has played for coaches who knew they had their hands full in trying to manage his personality at times. But folks he worked alongside in Houston provided glowing reports regarding his demeanor and his ability to fit into a new locker room after arriving last April via a trade between the Texans and Bills.

"He got along with people well here... Everyone liked him," said one Houston staffer. "He was a good teammate and worked hard. No noticeable issues. He understood Nico (Collins) was the guy."

In New England, Diggs currently looks like more of a No. 1 than he did in Houston, where he played with Collins and saw the majority of his snaps come from an alignment in the slot. But Diggs is coming off an ACL tear that could threaten his availability for the start of the season.

"You only get to complain if you can produce," said one of Diggs' coaches in Minnesota, "and I would think he gets that now."

Diggs indicated that he is in a different place in his life now than he was earlier in his career as a member of the Vikings or Bills.

"When I was younger, I was so caught up in maybe a shouting match or maybe going back and forth with somebody," he said. "I think at this point in my career, I'm a little older now.

"I'm in a space where I'd rather give you a spanking -- sorry -- than go back and forth with you.

"As far as being competitive, I've always been that way. Even when I was a little boy, I wanted to win everything that I did. I never wanted to lose. I'll never lose that. I think the older I get, the worse it gets because I really expect to win. If I lose, it's like, 'It's my fault, I'm going to get you. I'm going to get you on this next one.'"

Diggs enters a wide receiver room that currently features a number of young players -- Ja'Lynn Polk (22 years old), Javon Baker (22), Kayshon Boutte (22) and DeMario Douglas (24) -- and indicated Friday that he looks forward to working with them as well as second-year quarterback Drake Maye. 

Not all, he acknowledged, will respond to emotional prodding similarly.

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"You can't lead everybody the same," Diggs said. "As fiery and competitive as I am, the ones around you, some people are motivated differently.

"Some people (need) positive reinforcement, as I call it, encouragement. People like quarterbacks. Quarterbacks need that positive reinforcement because things aren't always going to go right, and things are never going to be perfect. Having somebody that always has your back no matter if it's good or bad, it's something that you can appreciate. Especially when it's genuine. 

"Those around me, I'm trying to push them in the right direction even if things aren't going right for me... My maturation process comes from that experience -- the good and the bad, especially more personal. I've done a lot of inner work to this point, and I feel like I'm in a great space."

However Diggs plans on exhibiting his competitive side in New England, he'll have to get on the field first. He said Friday that he's "ahead of schedule" in his return from last year's season-ending injury, but he did not commit to a specific time when he hoped to be a full participant in practice. 

"We'll see," he said. "Right now, I'm ahead of schedule. Trying to stay ahead of schedule. Pretty much taking it day by day."