Stefon Diggs’ run with the Buffalo Bills is over. The star receiver was traded to the Houston Texans on Wednesday in a deal involving multiple draft picks, according to reports. The move arrived after weeks of speculation on Diggs’ future in Buffalo.
What Are the Stefon Diggs Trade Details?
ESPN’s Adam Schefter was the first to report news of the Diggs trade. Here’s what he reported on the compensation:
- Bills receive: 2025 second-round pick (via Minnesota Vikings)
- Texans receive: Stefon Diggs, 2024 sixth-round pick (pick 189), 2025 fifth-round pick
Stefon Diggs to the #Texans 🤯#BillsMafia | #WeAreTexans pic.twitter.com/b0SDcmAN8e
— Pro Football Network (@PFN365) April 3, 2024
Diggs, a four-time Pro Bowler, first joined the Bills in 2020 following five seasons with the Vikings. He established a dominant connection with quarterback Josh Allen, averaging 111 receptions, 1,343 yards, and 9.3 touchdowns per campaign over his four seasons in Buffalo.
Diggs will turn 31 in November and is coming off his least productive season in Buffalo. Still, he’s one of the best receivers in the NFL, and the trade could have huge ramifications for the AFC.
What the Stefon Diggs Trade Means for Bills, Texans
Diggs now joins an ascending Texans offense led by quarterback C.J. Stroud. He’ll bolster a receiving corps that already features receivers Nico Collins and Tank Dell, and tight end Dalton Schultz. Houston also traded for running back Joe Mixon and signed edge rusher Danielle Hunter last month.
The Texans, who also have a young, ascending defense, already were viewed as one of the fastest-rising teams in the NFL. Now they’re even better and have a strong shot at proving last season’s surprising playoff berth wasn’t a fluke.
The Bills, meanwhile, are reeling.
Buffalo lost receiver Gabe Davis in free agency before signing wideouts Mack Hollins and Curtis Samuel. Hollins and Samuel are good players, but they’re undoubtedly a step down from the Diggs-Davis duo.
That said, the Bills still have dangerous weapons in running back James Cook and tight ends Dalton Kincaid and Dawson Knox. Plus, with Allen at quarterback, they’ll still be able to put up points. But the offense is worse now than it was in 2023, and Buffalo also parted with multiple core veteran defenders early in the offseason.
It’s not a stretch to say that the Texans now are ahead of the Bills in the AFC pecking order.
Was Diggs Disgruntled in Buffalo?
It sure seemed that way.
Diggs clearly was unhappy a year ago, but he ultimately stayed in Buffalo and turned in a strong season. However, he sang a similarly mercurial tune this offseason, with his social media activity causing even more off-field headaches for the Bills.
The most recent example came roughly 14 hours before Diggs was traded.
Former NFL QB Robert Griffin III posted a video in which he asked whether Diggs was “essential” to Allen’s success. When an X user replied by suggesting Diggs wasn’t essential to Allen’s success, Diggs replied with, “You sure?”
You sure ?
— DIGGS (@stefondiggs) April 3, 2024
It’s unclear whether that post motivated the Bills to trade Diggs. But it probably is fair to assume he wouldn’t be in Houston if he were a better teammate on and off the field.
Fantasy Football Impact of Stefon Diggs Trade
From Pro Football Network’s Ben Rolfe:
There is no real way of sugarcoating how this is a net negative for fantasy purposes. While Diggs experienced a decline last season, he was still likely to be the top fantasy WR option in Buffalo entering the season. Now, that is likely to be some combination of Samuel and Khalil Shakir, both of whom we do not expect to have the ceiling that Diggs has had during his career.
Meanwhile, the Texans’ WR room was fairly loaded with options. While Tank Dell might be slow to start the season after his injury late in the year, they also had Nico Collins and Noah Brown.
MORE: Stefon Diggs Being Traded to the Houston Texans Creates a Logjam at WR
Three WRs were already too many mouths to feed from a fantasy perspective, and now we have four when they’re all healthy and at 100%. The worst-case scenario here is that Diggs steals a little bit from each of Dell and Collins.
Brown would have been fringe roster-worthy anyway when everyone else was healthy, but he’s now likely nothing more than a deep Best Ball option. It wouldn’t be a huge surprise if we see Diggs as the third option among the wide receivers and may not be a usable fantasy asset by the middle of the season.
Did the Texans or Bills Win the Trade?
Pro Football Network’s Dallas Robinson evaluated the Diggs trade with letter grades for both sides involved.
“If the Texans get the 2020 through 2022 version of Diggs, this trade will be a home run,” said Robinson. While Robinson gives the Texans a high grade and acknowledges that there’s a ton of upside in adding the former Bills wide receiver, he does note that Diggs’ production fell off dramatically in the second half of last season.
KEEP READING: Stefon Diggs Trade Grade — How Did Texans and Bills Fare in Blockbuster Deal?
Unlike the Texans, Robinson was critical of the Bills in making this trade.
“If we’re grading the Bills on the roster-building strategy that got them to the point of trading Diggs while eating cap space, we’d give them an F.”
When considering the context of the situation, though, Robinson is less harsh in his grade for the Bills, as this saves them cash in the short term while providing more salary cap flexibility down the road.
How Will the Bills Replace Diggs?
After trading away Diggs, the Bills have now lost their top two wide receivers from 2023, and their depth chart is very thin at the position.
So far this offseason, their only two additions at wide receiver have been Hollins and Samuel — two guys that can’t replace the production they’re losing from Diggs and Davis, to say the least.
With Diggs now out of the picture, the Bills have an even bigger need at wide receiver.
Some notable wide receivers that are still available in free agency are Michael Thomas and Odell Beckham Jr., but neither of them can be relied upon to be a No. 1 target at this stage of their careers.
KEEP READING: Will the Bills Sign Stefon Diggs’ Replacement or Trade For Brandon Aiyuk or Tee Higgins?
Throughout this offseason, Brandon Aiyuk and Tee Higgins have been mentioned in trade rumors, with both star receivers seeking new contracts from their respective teams. While they would each be at the top of the wish list for Bills fans, either player being traded to Buffalo would be very surprising.
Diggs Says Goodbye to Buffalo
On Wednesday evening, Diggs sent a farewell message to the Bills fan base on Instagram.
Stefon Diggs bids farewell to Buffalo on IG: pic.twitter.com/lSVj7lvnAP
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 4, 2024
“I can’t begin to express the amount of love and respect I have for the city of Buffalo” Diggs said in an emotional farewell.
“Four of the best years of my life, the city welcomed me with open arms. I’m forever grateful for you all and the @buffalobills organization! Something special was built over these years with some very special men, that will always have a place in my heart.”
“Billsmafia, so many great memories created throughout the years. Those games were crazy because of you. Sadly good things come to an end until we meet again.”
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