Since deciding to part ways with Stefon Diggs, who was at the height of his career when the team moved him to the Buffalo Bills, the Minnesota Vikings have gone a long way.
The Vikings receiver and a 2020 seventh-round pick were purchased by the Bills approximately one month prior to the 2020 NFL Draft in exchange for a 2020 first-round pick (number 22 overall), a 2020 fifth-round pick, a 2020 sixth-round pick, and a 2021 fourth-round pick.
Diggs had signed a five-year extension to remain with Minnesota until 2023, less than two years before. As a fifth-round pick in 2015, he quickly became a standout alongside Adam Thielen. In his five seasons with the Vikings, Diggs recorded 365 catches for 4,623 receiving yards and 30 touchdowns. He is best remembered for his game-winning catch-and-run in the “Minneapolis Miracle” playoff game against the Saints in January 2018. He had career-best seasons in 2018 with 1,029 yards and nine touchdowns and in 2019 with 1,130 yards and six touchdowns.
In his last two seasons with the Minnesota Vikings, despite his career-high production, Diggs’ relationship with the organization deteriorated. He was fined for missing team obligations in October which fueled trade rumors that lingered. The Vikings used the first-round pick received from the Bills in the Diggs trade to draft Justin Jefferson in 2020. Jefferson, an exceptional receiver, has become one of the NFL’s top pass-catchers in his four seasons with the Vikings. His stats have far exceeded Diggs’ output during the same timeframe. Despite an injury that cut short his 2023 season, Jefferson set a new NFL record for receiving yards in a player’s first four seasons.
