Minnesota Vikings: Stefon Diggs has chance to be special with Kirk Cousins

Stefon Diggs has flashed immense talent in his first three seasons with the Minnesota Vikings. Can the addition of Kirk Cousins take him to the next level?

The Minnesota Vikings added one of the highest-profiled free agents in recent memory when they signed Kirk Cousins to the first fully-guaranteed contract in NFL history. Minnesota gave Cousins a three-year, $84 million deal.

Coming off one of his best seasons to date, Stefon Diggs will look to build a strong rapport with Minnesota’s $84 million man. With a career passer rating of 93.7, Cousins is sure to be the best quarterback Diggs has ever played alongside.

Having caught passes from Teddy Bridgewater, Sam Bradford and Case Keenum in the past, Diggs never had a true chance to put up superstar numbers. Although each quarterback was serviceable, all were far from distinguished.

The highest yardage and touchdown totals during Bradford’s tenure with the Vikings was 3,877 yards and 20 touchdowns, while Bridgewater’s best totals were 3,231 yards and 14 touchdowns. Keenum threw for 3,547 yards and 22 touchdowns last season.

Cousins’ best totals with the Washington Redskins? He once threw for 4,917 yards in 2016 and 29 touchdowns in 2015. And yet, having not worked with consistent talent in the past, Cousins has the potential to inflate those stats even more in 2018. A campaign of 5,000+ yards or 30+ touchdowns isn’t out of the question.

Some may argue Jordan Reed is a top-flight tight end when healthy, but we all know how often that is. Jamison Crowder is merely a role player and Josh Doctson has yet to prove his true worth.

More from NFL Spin Zone

• Dallas Cowboys made the trade everyone else should have made
• Pittsburgh Steelers rookie sleeper everyone should be talking about
• Anthony Richardson putting jaw-dropping talent on display immediately
• Denver Broncos’ stud wide receiver might be out for a while
• Washington Commanders: Three takeaways from win over Ravens

But that isn’t the case with the Vikings. Minnesota boasts one of the deepest rosters in the league, so there’s no shortage of talent on offense.

Adam Thielen poses a great No. 1 option as the X-receiver, while Kyle Rudolph figures to be one of Cousins’ favorite targets at tight end. Dalvin Cook and Latavius Murray in the backfield form one of the best one-two punches in NFL.

Then there’s Diggs — a player whose shown the capabilities of being one of the NFL’s premiere talents, but a combination of circumstances has plagued his journey to being the best at his position.

For instance, Diggs has never played a full 16 games. The injury bug remains a legitimate concern for the former fifth rounder. Despite that, he’s posted stat lines of 720, 903 and 849 yards, respectively, in his first three years.

He’s played in an average of 13.3 games each season of his career, with an average of 824 yards per season. When extrapolated to 16 games that number reaches 1,010 yards. Having never played with a quarterback whose thrown for over 3,900 yards, a tally of 1,010 receiving yards may be achievable in just 13 games when factoring in the addition of Cousins.

Diggs’ touchdown rate is sure to improve as well. He’s scored four, three and eight touchdowns in his first three seasons, respectively, while the total touchdown passes of his starting quarterbacks in those seasons were 14, 20 and 22, respectively.

Moving onto how Diggs appears on tape, he’s consistently been one of the cleanest route runners since coming out of college. Concerns of size and long speed plagued him before being drafted, but Diggs has since shown those thoughts were merely a figment of everyone’s imagination.

In fact, size may be the least of his concerns at this point. Diggs was the most-reliable receiving threat in the NFL when it came to contested catches in 2017 — a stat usually dominated by big-bodied receivers. According to Pro Football Focus, he caught 64.0 percent of his targets in contested situations.

Diggs was also PFF’s eighth-highest graded (85.4 overall) wide receiver last season, and has never earned a grade lower than 82.6 overall in his three seasons. He is one of just nine receivers to have been graded 80.0 overall or better in each of the past three years.

Possibly the most-impressive statistic is the fact that Diggs earned his quarterbacks a passer rating of 120.4 when targeted last season, the second-highest in the NFL according to PFF. For comparison, the average NFL passer rating in 2017 was 88.6.

Going back to his route running abilities, Diggs’ most-successful route last year was the corner route – where he earned his quarterbacks a perfect passer rating of 158.3 when targeted. He’s also been one of the NFL’s greatest red zone threats. Since 2016, Diggs has earned his quarterbacks a passer rating of 132.2 when targeted in the red zone.

And must we not forget what Diggs accomplished in the NFC Divisional Playoffs against the New Orleans Saints last season. Dubbed “The Minneapolis Miracle“, Diggs sent shocks throughout the NFL in the form of a 61-yard touchdown as time expired. Minnesota won, 29-24.

As Diggs enters his fourth and final year of his rookie contract, the 2018 season is unquestionably the most-important of his career. Although he’s flashed plenty of promise and potential, the Vikings’ front office will likely need to see more if he’s to expect a huge pay day at season’s end.

The expectations for Diggs this coming season should be slightly higher than years past. The hype is at an all-time high, and he’s given us every reason to believe he possesses the talent to become a top five receiver in the NFL.

So what can we expect from Diggs in 2018? With a significant upgrade at quarterback, a fully healthy season and potent surrounding cast, the sky is the limit for a player still just 23 years old.