Getting his Wings: The Dynasty Impact of Stefon Diggs to Buffalo
We live in strange times. DLF is not ignoring the fact there are lots of lives changing on a daily basis out there across the world. We also recognize the fact we can bring a little information and entertainment as a distraction to your new daily routines. It seems each day brings us something different to think about. As I began to write this article, I started reflecting on yesterday’s events and recounting my reactions.
9:00 AM
Event: I stopped at the store to get some additional emergency groceries and saw someone buying no fewer than ten frozen pizzas.
My Response: “Wow, these really are some interesting times. I guess that guy won’t go hungry, he’ll just weigh 300 pounds when this is over.”
9:01 AM
Event: I realized it was me buying ten frozen pizzas.
My Response: “OK, I can deal with this. If anything, I know I won’t be eating the grass out of my backyard like my Golden Retriever. Stay calm. You just seem to be making strange choices.”
5:01 PM
Event: I stop by the gas station and see a guy in a full-on hazmat suit filling up his truck.
My Response: “That’s a bit of an overreaction. If I end up staying home from work, I’m totally binge watching ‘The Last Man on Earth’ again, though.”
5:23 PM
Event: I see someone in a minivan drive off from the gas station and forget to detach the hose, ripping it off the pump.
My Response: “OK, I get it. People are distracted. Everyone is going to get through this.”
7:38 PM
Event: I come to the realization that the Bills acquired Stefon Diggs and a 2020 seventh-round pick from the Vikings in exchange for a 2020 first, fifth, and sixth round pick and a 2021 fourth-round pick while the Texans received only David Johnson and a second round pick for DeAndre Hopkins and a fourth round pick swap.
My Response: “OMG! WE’RE ALL GOING TO DIE!”
It’s hard to really compare apples to apples sometimes and it’s also hard to say if the Texans would have dealt Hopkins to another team in the AFC. However, Bill O’Brien currently looks like that guy in your fantasy league who trades away a star player for next to nothing, leaving himself inundated with Emails saying, “What were you thinking? I would have given you [fill in the blank with something much more superior than the equivalent of two lunchables for prime rib] for him!” Regardless, this piece is about Diggs and not Hopkins. The Bills have clearly been in the market for a top receiver to fully unleash Josh Allen’s potential and struck out on Antonio Brown last year. They now have Diggs to fill the role and this move has some far-reaching dynasty impact. Let’s take a look at the players involved.
Stefon Diggs, WR BUF
Well, after all the cryptic tweets and drama, Diggs is the latest diva-like receiver to get his wish and force his way to a new franchise. He will now have a chance to be a true #1 receiver for the first time in his career in Buffalo. Diggs is clearly a talented player. Over his five-year career, he has posted 365 catches for 4,623 yards and 30 touchdowns – not bad for a fifth round draft pick. He’s also coming off back-to-back 1,000 yard seasons. However, it’s been clear for some time that he and Kirk Cousins had never really clicked and Diggs was wanting to be an alpha receiver, something that was simply not going to happen in Minnesota as long as Adam Thielen was around.
To me, this is one of those occurrences where a move to a different franchise even as a focal point in the offense looks to come with a negligible change in value. While Diggs will be the true WR1 in Buffalo, he’s also going to an offense that ranked 26th in passing last season and just 24th overall. While Josh Allen enjoyed a career season, he still only threw for 20 total touchdowns and just over 3,000 yards on a completion percentage under 60%, while Kirk Cousins posted over 3,600 yards and 26 scores with a completion percentage of close to 70%. In short, while he’s getting his chance to be the focal point of an offense, that offense isn’t nearly as prolific. Owners of Diggs have to hope the lack of weapons in Buffalo have been the downfall, but the accuracy of Allen still leaves a bit to be desired. Time will tell, but while it’s hard to see Diggs’ numbers regressing too much, it’s also hard to see them go through the roof, either. As such, I wouldn’t expect his ADP to change too much based on this move.
Josh Allen, QB BUF
The Bills have been wanting to pair Allen with an elite receiver and they paid dearly to do it. It’s fair to wonder just what kind of an impact this is going to have with Allen, but we all know accuracy is one of the hardest things to refine in a quarterback’s game. However, a move like this has to help his value. John Brown had a great season last year, but he’s just not a true WR1 in an offense. With Diggs, Brown, Cole Beasley and some depth, the Bills offense should be more explosive, especially if running back Devin Singletary can build on his solid rookie season. While this move won’t vault Allen into the truly elite quarterback category, it should certainly help. This season will now be a real key in his development in both reality and fantasy.
John Brown, Cole Beasley, Robert Foster, WRs BUF
The talented Brown had his best season-to-date last year with 72 catches for 1,060 yards and six touchdowns. It’s fair to expect those numbers to go down at this point as he moves into a WR2 spot. As for Beasley, he should still put up some reliable numbers from the slot. Foster looks to be the odd man out after failing to capitalize on his golden opportunity last season. In the end, your team may be in some trouble if you’re starting any of these players on a regular basis next season.
Adam Thielen, WR MIN
While the targets of Diggs have to go somewhere else, it’s hard to imagine this move helping Thielen much. Defenses will likely not have to pay so much attention to the deep ball and could roll more coverage to Thielen’s side, making more targets and more coverage cancel each other out to some degree. All in all, I wouldn’t expect too much to change with Thielen – he’s a safe bet for similar numbers.
Bisi Johnson, WR MIN
If there’s a winner in this whole thing at the moment, it could be Bisi Johnson, the 2019 seventh round pick who starting coming on strong at the end of last season. At this point, he’s a starter on an explosive team. While that is likely to change here through free agency and the draft, the Vikings clearly like what they see with him and he’s squarely on the sleeper map on the moment.
Kirk Cousins, QB MIN
You can’t just take a player like Diggs out of the lineup and expect things to remain status quo. Look for the Vikings to add more weapons, but Cousins’ stock just took a minor hit.
Receivers in the 2020 NFL Draft
With two picks in the first round, the Vikings look like a prime destination for a rookie wideout, and an exciting one at that. Stay tuned!
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