Vikings trade WR Diggs to Bills

[TENINCH]

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2885826-buffalos-stack-burger-honors-stefon-diggs-with-can-you-diggs-it-sandwich

[Krauser]

I was sad to see Diggs traded. He’s a top level WR. I think he’s a little better than Thielen, though some of that’s a matter of preference for a higher ceiling (Diggs) vs a higher floor (Thielen). I liked his competitive drive. He ran every route and made every kind of play, particularly excelling on deep routes and contested catches. And of course the Miracle was one of the most iconic moments in recent memory. 

Diggs is in his prime, on a great contract. Despite fears about him being nicked up his first couple of years, he stayed healthy last year. He was very productive. His counting stats were limited by the scheme but his share of targets and productions (like the college “dominator” score) was superb. 

It’s too bad Diggs wanted out. I don’t know if that comes down to a conflict with Cousins (who it seems a number of people find annoying or hard to deal with) or a bigger picture idea about the offensive philosophy, or just a more narrow view of wanting a chance to put up more yards and TDs in a high volume offense.

I kind of doubt Diggs or any WR is big into the PFF Forecast or “running backs don’t matter” twitter, so I doubt it was a problem with the scheme. The Vikings weren’t some plodding offense last year, they had one of the higher percentages of explosive plays in the league. The most prolific offense in the NFC last year was the Niners, who use a very similar system and approach to playcalling. So Diggs’ problem probably came down to Kirk Is Annoying and/or Kirk Doesn’t Throw To Me Enough, or maybe just I Want The Ball More. 

In any case, Diggs made it obvious he wanted out. The fact that he went public makes me think a little less of him, but probably it’s unfair expecting a young guy in his position to be professional about that kind of thing.

Given that he did want out, Spielman basically had to trade him. There would have been no point insisting Diggs play out his contract -  the QB and the scheme aren’t expected to change anytime soon, and he’d be stuck with that situation for 4 more years. 

Given that he did have to trade him, Spielman as usual was an excellent poker player and got a very good return. The draft value they got for Diggs was comparable (a little better) than the Harvin trade, which is fair.

Here’s how the trade shakes out so far, with the draft day selections and trades:

Vikings trade:
Stefon Diggs, WR
7.219 (to Ravens, who took Geno Stone, S)
7.239 (to Bills, who took Dane Jackson, CB)

Vikings receive:
1.22 Justin Jefferson, WR
7.225 Kenny Willekes, DE
Bills 4th round pick in 2021
Bears 4th round pick in 2021
Ravens 5th round pick in 2021

Not quite exactly a one to one swap, Diggs for JJeff, but close — the net effect of the other picks trading hands is about a mid 3rd to the Vikings.

Having traded Diggs, I think the Vikings did have to take a WR in the first. WR is the premium non-QB position in the game right now, teams just don’t win without quality there. Thielen is quality but he turns 30 this year and isn’t quite elite. Beyond AT, the Vikings had no WR who defenses would have to account for. Without a replacement for Diggs, they wouldn’t have been able to take full advantage of the open intermediate zones and one on one deep shots that the Kubiak scheme is designed to create. 

The best case scenario is that Jefferson can fill Diggs’ role with little noticeable dropoff. That’s not realistic to expect in year one, but I think Jefferson’s floor is high, and he should be able to contribute as a good starter even as a rookie.

I wish Diggs luck in Buffalo, though I don’t think his stats will be much better in that scheme. I’m sure at least Josh Allen will be more fun to play with.

Edited April 28, 2020 by Krauser

[RpMc]

Trying to figure out why pick 219 is in there?

That pick was acquired by the Vikings for Danny Isidora and then traded to the Ravens

[Krauser]

44 minutes ago, RpMc said:

Trying to figure out why pick 219 is in there?

That pick was acquired by the Vikings for Danny Isidora and then traded to the Ravens

The trade with the Ravens was a late 6th (6.201, which they used on WR James Proche) and 7.219 for 7.225 and BAL 5th rounder in 2021.

So basically they moved up a full round in the next draft for the cost of dropping 6 slots in the 7th.

[RpMc]

1 minute ago, Krauser said:

The trade with the Ravens was a late 6th (6.201, which they used on WR James Proche) and 7.219 for 7.225 and BAL 5th rounder in 2021.

So basically they moved up a full round in the next draft for the cost of dropping 6 slots in the 7th.

Ah, I figured it out, I was just confused by the structure having that pick in what seemed like the "Bills side" of the equation and not just a total sum of pieces moving out.

[Krauser]

20 minutes ago, RpMc said:

Ah, I figured it out, I was just confused by the structure having that pick in what seemed like the "Bills side" of the equation and not just a total sum of pieces moving out.

Wikipedia’s draft page (one for each year’s draft) is my go-to to figure out trades. They’re all listed next to each pick as footnotes, nice and clear. And the page is clean, no video overlays or other junk.

[RpMc]

1 minute ago, Krauser said:

Wikipedia’s draft page (one for each year’s draft) is my go-to to figure out trades. They’re all listed next to each pick as footnotes, nice and clear. And the page is clean, no video overlays or other junk.

same

[vike daddy]

Spielman: “I don’t know if we would have traded him to Green Bay or Detroit or Chicago . . . but it does help when you can get him into a different conference than us potentially playing against him."

https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2020/05/03/getting-stefon-diggs-out-of-the-nfc-helped-persuade-vikings-to-trade-him/ 

[SemperFeist]

I still think Diggs’ unhappiness was contract related.

[JDBrocks]

I think it boiled down to Kubiak and Zimmer seeing the big picture differently than Diggs. I think that Cousins did what was expected of him and played within the framework of what the coaches wanted, while Diggs was winning his matchups but largely being missed or overlooked too often for his liking. That wasn't going to change, so Diggs decided he could realize his full potential elsewhere.

[vikingsrule]

1 hour ago, JDBrocks said:

I think it boiled down to Kubiak and Zimmer seeing the big picture differently than Diggs. I think that Cousins did what was expected of him and played within the framework of what the coaches wanted, while Diggs was winning his matchups but largely being missed or overlooked too often for his liking. That wasn't going to change, so Diggs decided he could realize his full potential elsewhere.

Will see if Diggs realizes that potential. He’s going to a situation with a lesser QB situation playing for a team that will have more games impacted by the weather.

[JDBrocks]

I don’t think it matters if he does or doesn’t. He just decided that he couldn’t make it work in Minnesota. 

[Klomp]

It'll be interesting to see how targets get divided in Buffalo. I was a little surprised to see that both Brown and Beasley got 100+ targets apiece last year. Both of them are back. Each of them could probably easily take a hit as Diggs slides into the top spot, but maybe that's nothing more than an assumption on our part. By comparison, no one hit 100 targets in Minnesota last year. Diggs would've been right there had he played the game he missed, but Thielen wasn't even close to hitting it.

But after those three, they have nothing. People talked about our WR group's lack of depth before the draft, but Buffalo's would've been just as bad without Diggs.

[swede700]

15 hours ago, JDBrocks said:

I think it boiled down to Kubiak and Zimmer seeing the big picture differently than Diggs. I think that Cousins did what was expected of him and played within the framework of what the coaches wanted, while Diggs was winning his matchups but largely being missed or overlooked too often for his liking. That wasn't going to change, so Diggs decided he could realize his full potential elsewhere.

It should be clarified that he thinks he'll realize his full potential elsewhere.  He may, or he may find out the same thing that Percy found out.

[JDBrocks]

49 minutes ago, swede700 said:

It should be clarified that he thinks he'll realize his full potential elsewhere.  He may, or he may find out the same thing that Percy found out.

Sort of semantics. That's what I was saying by "Diggs decided". I didn't say that it was a foregone conclusion. I don't think he'll be nearly as good in Buffalo.