A Fresh Look at the Stefon Diggs Trade and the Justin Jefferson Acquisition
LeeAnn Lowman
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In 2019, Minnesota Vikings star wide receiver Stefon Diggs started to make some noise about how unhappy he was with the Vikings offense. He was implying and other times outright saying he wasn’t being targeted enough. At the end of the season, Stefon Diggs got the trade he requested and in return, the Vikings were able to draft LSU phenom Justin Jefferson. At this time, halfway into Jefferson’s second season with the Vikes, it’s time to compare the two and assess how well that acquisition panned out.
What Went Wrong with Stefon Diggs in Minnesota?
Initially, during 2019, Diggs began to show unhappiness and frustration with the Vikings organization, leading to skipped practices. Next, he came forward in an interview and said he felt that he had been misled by the staff – he was told it would be a pass-heavy offense and it was more of a run-heavy offense. Obviously, the team did not initially respond; however, it is no secret that Head Coach Mike Zimmer wanted to continue to pursue a run-heavy offense. He credits the run with helping the Vikings get to the playoffs in 2017. This undoubtedly, makes it seem a bit like an excuse from Diggs rather than the reality of the situation. Diggs tried using a little “Jedi Mind Trick” in his interview to help make his case. In looking back at the stats from those years they do not necessarily support Diggs’ complaint. In 2019, Diggs set a record for career-high receiving yards.
| Stefon Diggs | Targets | Receptions | Total Yards |
| 2015 | 84 | 52 | 720 |
| 2016 | 112 | 84 | 903 |
| 2017 | 95 | 64 | 849 |
| 2018 | 149 | 102 | 1021 |
| 2019 | 94 | 63 | 1130 |
For instance, the offense in 2017 may have appeared to lean toward a run-heavy approach, the split was average for the NFL – 48.74% run and 51.26% passing. Nonetheless, the Vikings tend to stay right in the middle of the 50/50 split for run/pass compared to other NFL teams.
The Trade
Without a doubt, once a player is disgruntled, it is very hard to pull them back in. Minnesota recognized this and made a brilliant choice – trading Diggs and a 2020 7th round pick to the Buffalo Bills for 3 2020 draft picks, including one in the first round and a 2021 4th round pick. They used that first-round pick to replace Stefon Diggs by selecting Justin Jefferson, a wide receiver out of LSU. Quickly, Skol Nation forgot their pain over losing Diggs and began to get excited about their newest player. Jefferson was only too happy to come to Minnesota and bring his signature touchdown dance “The Griddy.”
Justin Jefferson as a Rookie
Jefferson got off to a hot start in Minnesota in 2020. He set the franchise rookie receptions record with 88 breaking Randy Moss’s previous record of 69. More impressively, his yardage total surpassed the record previously held by Anquan Boldin. He ranked 4th in the NFL with 1,400 receiving yards. His 23 catches of 20+ yards tied for an NFL high, and he was only the 4th player in NFL history to record 7 games with 100+ yards. He finished the 2020 season with 125 targets, 88 receptions, and 1400 receiving yards.
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Sophomore Slump or Offensive Miscues?
All you must do is take to social media to hear fans grumbling about the issues on Minnesota’s offense, with suggestions that Justin Jefferson is having a bit of a sophomore slump. Nevertheless, when you look at his stats for 2021 so far, he is only slightly off track from last season. He has 68 targets, 46 receptions, and 632 total receiving yards. Undoubtedly, there are many issues with the Minnesota offense this year but none of them seem to be Justin Jefferson’s performance. Despite the commentary, he is still playing at a very high level. In Week 9, against Baltimore, he caught a 50-yard touchdown pass. That touchdown made him the 2nd fastest player to get to 2,000 receiving yards, behind only Odell Beckham Jr.
Currently, Justin Jefferson only ranks 18th in receptions in the NFL, so you need to look at all the other factors that impact his performance. Most notably, the offensive line and the offensive play calling. The interior offensive line remains weak. At that same time, during the Week 9 game against the Ravens, Oli Udoh performed poorly, which leads to Cousins having to rush to get the ball out. Clearly, he either must throw under pressure which causes inaccuracies, or the play doesn’t have time to develop. These OL weaknesses have been present all season (and longer, quite frankly). It should be noted that Cousins isn’t always appearing to read the field very well, missing opportunities we desperately need to stay in the game. For example, in that same game, we were up 14-3 heading into the half. We had excellent field position, after an interception by Cam Bynum, we just needed to capitalize on the opportunity to put the game further out of Baltimore’s reach. Instead on a 3rd and 11 situation, Jefferson was wide open and Cousins didn’t appear to see him – and we settled for a field goal.
Finally, another notable statistic is that Cousins is rarely sacked – he wasn’t sacked once in the game against Baltimore. At first glance, you’d likely credit a strong OL with protecting the pocket. The reality is that Cousins flounders under pressure and dumps the ball. We see it repeatedly, passing play after passing play. The pocket begins to deteriorate and rather than take a shot downfield or chance a hit, Cousins scrambles for a yard or fires out of bounds. This ultra-conservative play-calling and execution mean that we aren’t getting the ball in the hands of our receiving corps nearly enough.
The Last Word on the Diggs/Jefferson Comparison
If you asked the casual football fan who is a bigger “star” receiver or who is making more of an impact in the NFL in 2021 – Stefon Diggs or Justin Jefferson – you are likely to hear Diggs’ name. The reality is something very different. Clearly, comparing their stats for the season so far paints a different picture:
| 2021 through week 9 | Targeted | Receptions | Total Receiving Yards | Touchdowns |
| Diggs | 73 | 48 | 588 | 3 |
| Jefferson | 68 | 46 | 632 | 4 |
The Vikings came out on top in this trade. Not only did they obtain a player who is happy to be in Minnesota, but they were able to free up some cap space and pick up additional draft picks. The reason Diggs is touted as a current star while Jefferson is being underappreciated is due to team records. Wining = success in the eyes of fans. Right now, the Buffalo Bills are 5-3 while the Minnesota Vikings are 3-5. If we want to see more “Griddy” in Minnesota we need to correct the other offensive weaknesses.
