Say hello to Mr. Diggs
August 11, 2026
by Steve Thomas
Washington finally ended the drama last week by making its selection amongst the currently available, supposedly elite diva receivers by signing Stefon Diggs to a one year contract reportedly in the range of $12M. For the record, if the choice was between Diggs and the NFL’s resident trainwreck, Brandon Aiyuk, the team definitely made the right choice. First of all, I don’t think Diggs is a trainwreck like Aiyuk. Diggs is more of a standard, big-ego diva receiver. That’s not necessarily good either, but it’s far better than bringing in someone who’s well down the road to crazy town. Diggs has the potential to be a relatively normal and productive receiver. So just who is Stefon Diggs, anyway, and what can the team expect from him this coming season? Let’s get into it and see what we can find out.
Diggs, who is 32 and the older brother of free agent corner Trevon Diggs, is a DC area native who is originally from Gaithersburg, Maryland. He is listed at 6’0” and 191 pounds. Diggs attended the University of Maryland. He spent three years at Maryland from 2012 to 2014, where played in a total of 28 games, and made 150 receptions for 2227 yards, 14.8 yards per reception, and 14 touchdowns. He ran the 40 yard dash in 4.46 seconds at the 2015 NFL Combine.
Diggs was drafted in the fifth round by the Minnesota Vikings, where he stayed through the 2019 season. The Vikings then traded him to Buffalo in the 2020 offseason, and he stayed with the Bills through 2023. Buffalo then traded him to the Houston Texans in the 2024 offseason. Diggs only stayed with the Texans for one season before signing a 3 year, $63.5M contract with the New England Patriots. He was then cut after just one season.
In total, Diggs has played in 161 NFL games, including 153 starts, and has made 942 receptions in 1344 targets for 11,504 yards, 12.2 yards per reception, and 74 touchdowns. His most productive season was 2020 with Buffalo, where he made 127 receptions in 166 targets for 1535 yards, all of which led the NFL, 12.1 yards per reception, and 8 touchdowns. For that effort, he earned First-Team All-Pro honors and was selected to the Pro Bowl. He was also selected to the Pro Bowl in 2021, 2022, and 2023, all with the Bills. Diggs also was productive during the first years of his career in Minnesota. His best season for the Vikings was probably in 2018, in which he had 102 receptions in 149 targets, for 1021 yards, 10.0 yards per reception, and 9 touchdowns.
Diggs tore his ACL in week 8 in 2024 while he was with the Texans, which caused his gross stats to drop that season to just 47 receptions in 64 targets, for 496 yards, 10.6 yards per reception, and 3 touchdowns. Beyond that injury season, he’s been remarkably consistent, gaining more than 1000 yards in 7 of his 11 seasons, including last year for the Patriots. In 2025, he had 85 receptions in 102 targets, for 1013 yards, 11.9 yards per reception, and 4 touchdowns.
The Patriots, of course, released him despite those productive numbers, most likely for salary cap reasons – Diggs’ departure saved them more than $16M. Also, Diggs was accused of criminal charges including felony strangulation and misdemeanor assault and battery for an incident with his former live-in personal chef that supposedly occurred in December, 2025. However, he was found not guilty at trial this past May. The NFL’s personal conduct policy has a much lower standard of proof than a criminal court, so theoretically, the league could have disciplined him for the incident. However, the NFL ultimately declined to take action due to lack of evidence.
So what does all of this mean for Washington and the receiver group? First, I doubt that 32 year old, post-ACL tear Stefon Diggs will be capable of being the same NFL-leading, elite player he was earlier in his career in Minnesota and Buffalo. However, that doesn’t mean that he won’t be a tremendous asset alongside Terry McLaurin. New draft pick Antonio Williams has reportedly been great in training camp thusfar, but even if that’s true and translates to the regular season, the fact of the matter is that no defense will treat Williams the same way they will treat Diggs. One of the many problems with Washington’s offense last year was that teams were able to focus their defensive secondaries on McLaurin, when he was healthy. A known asset like Diggs will keep that from happening. Frankly, if anything, opposing defenses might be just as afraid of Diggs as McLaurin, if not more. After all, Diggs in his prime was a more dangerous receiver than McLaurin ever was. Even now, this older and physically reduced Diggs is still someone teams have to account for – as I said above, just last year, he had 1013 receiving yards.
There’s no doubt that McLaurin and Diggs will be the #1 and #2 receivers for Washington. Reports from training camp seemed to indicate that new offensive coordinator David Blough has been moving McLaurin around somewhat rather than just keeping him in the “X” position, where McLaurin has played on nearly an exclusive basis. I therefore think it’s safe to assume that Blough’s strategy will evolve even moreso now that there’s a second proven weapon. More importantly, though, the fact that McLaurin and Diggs, along with tight end Chig Okonkwo, will take the lion’s share of the targets and the attention of opposing secondaries will allow some of Washington’s other receivers to develop on a more reasonable timeframe. Players like Williams, Jaylin Lane, Treylon Burks, Dyami Brown, and maybe even some of the team’s other lesser options will now be able to compete without the pressure of maintaining a big, immediate role in the offense.
On a side note, Diggs’ brother, Trevon, is still looking for a team. I’m aware that the two have put out some content talking about the two of them playing together in Washington. Absent injury, though, I doubt that happens considering the status of the team’s corner group. But that’s a story for another day.
In summary, despite some negative personal characteristics, Stefon Diggs will very likely be a tremendous asset to Washington’s offense. He’s going to open up the offense and force opposing teams to account for him instead of double-teaming or focusing solely on Terry McLaurin. No, we almost certainly won’t see the Diggs of old, but him at even 75% of his prime capabilities will be what the team needs. I’m not in love with the idea of bringing in a guy with a diva attitude, but in this case, hopefully the negatives will be outweighed by the positives.
What do you think? Let me know in the comment section below.