You really do have to give the Buffalo Bills credit: between the famous almost-trade for Antonio Brown, paying John Brown and Cole Beasley, and now this, they’re clearly hellbent on upgrading their receiving corps. Fox Sports’ Jay Glazer was first on the Bills acquiring Stefon Diggs from the Vikings on Monday night after Diggs himself threw rocket fuel on the fire by telling us flat-out something was cooking (and roasting a reply-guy dork in the process):
Bills have acquired @stefondiggs in a trade from the Vikings. @NFLonFOX
— Jay Glazer (@JayGlazer) March 17, 2020
And then NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero and the usual gang of insiders came in with the terms, which, in stark contrast to the DeAndre Hopkins trade earlier on Monday, appear to be the rare combination of “good gravy, that’s a lot...but also sounds about right?”
The #Vikings have traded WR Stefon Diggs and a seventh-round pick to the #Bills for a first-round pick, a fifth-round pick, a sixth-round pick and a fourth-round pick in 2021, source said. @JayGlazer first on the trade
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) March 17, 2020
Diggs had been a popular trade suggestion around these parts, especially after the Patriots’ embarrassing playoff exit that could largely be chalked up to “man it would be great if we had someone who was really, really good at catching footballs from Tom Brady”. Between his well-known desire to get out of Minnesota and the Patriots obviously having a need for both talent and youth at the position, Diggs-to-New-England was one of those crazy-sounding trade suggestions that actually made sense and theoretically could’ve happened if the Patriots were willing to pony up what the Vikings wanted. Which, as we know now, was a whole lot of picks. And especially after Bill sent a first-round pick to New Orleans for Brandin Cooks in 2017, we learned that Belichick is more than willing to make a blockbuster deal if it’s a receiver he’s really got his eyes on.
Having said that, Stefon Diggs to Buffalo is about the worst possible outcome for the Patriots short of sending him to the Kansas City Chiefs or the Baltimore Ravens, for a multitude of reasons. Obviously, the Bills were no joke last season, logging a 10-6 record and earning a playoff spot where they lost 22-19 in overtime to the Houston Texans, and now they’re adding a receiver that very well might help them end their 25-year playoff win drought. Also obviously, Diggs has played his best football the last two years, going over 1,000 receiving yards in both 2018 and 2019 and hitting paydirt 15 times between both seasons. And finally, Stefon’s only 26 years old and his contract runs through the 2023 season, so if things go well this year, he probably ain’t going anywhere for a while.
All in all, this looks like a solid deal for both of the teams involved that’ll almost certainly make Bills vs. Patriots must-see games this season, and that alone is something we haven’t been able to say with a straight face for quite a while.