Stefon Diggs expected to be very mediocre in 2020
Joe Johnson
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Even some of the biggest fans of Stefon Diggs in Minnesota understood that the Vikings had no choice but to move on from the mercurial wide receiver, as his behavior was becoming more and more frequent, contentious and public.
Despite that, though, the Vikings have said that they had no actual intention on moving on from Diggs. It was only when the incredible take that the Buffalo Bills ended up offering for him came across the wire, that they decided that “Diggs being Diggs” was just too much.
It’s that take that is the focus of this article, as multiple sites across the interwebs have dubbed the Diggs trade one of the worst moves this off-season. The somewhat surprising aspect of those takes is that those talking heads are saying that the Bills were the ones that blew it, not the Vikings, which in and of itself is nice for a change.
The Bills acquired Diggs and a 2020 seventh-round pick in exchange for a 2020 first-round pick (No. 22 overall, which turned into Justin Jefferson, slot receiver extraordinaire from LSU), a 2020 fifth-round pick (which was traded and is now a 2021 4th rounder) , a 2020 sixth-round pick (the 201st pick, which was bundled with the 219th and sent to Baltimore for the 225th-pick and 2021 fifth-round pick) and a 2021 fourth-round pick. NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported Monday.
Its safe to say that Diggs needs to come through BIG in Buffalo for this trade to make sense for the Bills. Beyond the above, Diggs also forced his way out if Minnesota because he wanted to be THE guy. Now he has his chance, even though the other guy, you know the one throwing the ball to Diggs, Josh Allen, is one of the more inaccurate quarterbacks in the league.
While that’s so spicy it has to be on purpose (by the Vikings), it isn’t hard to see the Bills and Diggs having an even worse break-up than Diggs had with the Vikings about a year or two from now. If Diggs wasn’t happy with Kirk Cousins throwing him the ball (who showed his down the field accuracy by giving Diggs the best two years of his career) how could he be happy (or surpass those numbers) with Allen.
Turns out I’m not alone.
Jon Buscaglia of the Athletic has been assessing each position for fantasy purposes and said the following about Diggs:
“Diggs is the WR24 in numberFire’s preseason fantasy rankings. Our models project him for 119.3 targets, 73.3 receptions, 998.1 yards, and 5.1 touchdowns.”
For the record, since Cousins’ arrival Diggs numbers have been the following:
2018: 102 grabs, 1,021 yards, 10 YPC average, 9 touchdowns.
2019: 63 grabs, 1,130 yards, 17.9 YPC average, 6 touchdowns.
But at least he’ll be THE guy. If by “THE” you mean mediocre AF.