Fantasy Football 2018: Why you should draft Stefon Diggs

The Minnesota Vikings have a dynamic duo in Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs. Although Thielen was better in Fantasy Football last year, 2018 may be different.

Seemingly out of nowhere, Adam Thielen became one of fantasy football‘s newest beloveds when he finished the 2017 season as the WR9 in PPR formats. Ending with 91 receptions for 1,276 yards and four touchdowns, Thielen will have a high bar to achieve in 2018.

But those weren’t even the most astounding numbers. Thielen brought in 143 targets, leaving him as the eighth-most targeted receiver in the league. Thielen’s partner in crime, Stefon Diggs, finished as the WR19 in PPR formats, and caught 64 receptions for 849 yards and eight touchdowns. Diggs brought in considerably less targets, however, with just 95.

So what can we expect in 2018? If you take anything away from this article, it’s to follow the targets from last season.

Typically, a wide receiver’s fantasy finish positively correlates with the amount of targets he had over the entire season. More targets increases the likelihood of finishing at a higher ranking at the end of the season.

For instance, in 2017 DeAndre Hopkins led the league in targets with 174 and also finished as the WR2. Antonio Brown was the second-most targeted receiver at 162 targets, while also finishing as the No. 1 overall receiver. But the list doesn’t stop there.

Keenan Allen: fifth in targets (159), finished as WR3.
Larry Fitzgerald: tied for third in targets (161), finished as WR4.
Jarvis Landry: tied for third in targets (161), finished as WR5.

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Michael Thomas (WR6), Julio Jones (WR7), Tyreek Hill (WR8), Adam Thielen (WR9) and AJ Green (WR10) round out the top 10 in end-of-season rankings, all of whom were also in the top 10 in targets with the lone exception of Hill, who relies on big plays to make the most out of his fantasy production.

Now is the part where Diggs comes in. Despite finishing as the 19th overall receiver, Diggs simultaneously finished as the 42nd-most targeted receiver in 2017. Not only is that a large disparity that shows immense room for improvement, but Diggs also only played in 14 games last season.

With the addition of Kirk Cousins this offseason, the ceiling for Diggs is through the roof. Cousins has thrown for over 4,000 yards in every season as a starter, a feat none of Diggs’ previous quarterbacks have ever achieved while with the Vikings.

Cousins has also logged an average of 563 attempts each season as a starter, which would be the highest-total for a Vikings’ quarterback since Diggs joined the Vikings in 2015. For comparison, Case Keenum logged 481 attempts last season, while still elevating Diggs to a 19th-overall finish. Remember, more attempts equals more targets.

Finally, Cousins has thrown for 29, 25 and 27 touchdowns, respectively, during his three seasons as the starter in Washington. The highest-amount of any previous Vikings’ quarterback? Keenum with 22 touchdowns. Cousins has also never worked with two receivers as talented as Thielen and Diggs.

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The main point is this: expect big things from Thielen in 2018, but expect even bigger things from Diggs, whose targets are expected to go up immensely from last year’s total of just 95. With more targets, Diggs should easily eclipse last year’s totals. A season of 1,000 yards, 80 receptions and 10 touchdowns isn’t out of the question if he garners 120+ targets.

All in all, both Thielen and Diggs are safe bets to finish highly-ranked at the end of 2018. Right now, Diggs is being drafted as the 14th receiver off the board. With the addition of Cousins and more targets funneled his way, he should easily finish 14th overall or better this season.

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