Minnesota Vikings: Kirk Cousins, Stefon Diggs connection evident already

Kirk Cousins already seems to have built a connection with Stefon Diggs, as showcased in the Minnesota Vikings first preseason game on Saturday night.

If Minnesota Vikings fans weren’t already excited about their new signal caller, Saturday night’s preseason game ended that drought. Kirk Cousins‘ skillset was on full display against the Denver Broncos elite secondary, as the Vikings quarterback completed all four of his passes for 41 yards and one touchdown.

But perhaps the biggest takeaway from Cousins’ debut was his perceived rapport with Stefon Diggs. The talented receiver caught all three of his passes from Cousins, along with 35 yards and a touchdown. Although the two players only played one drive together, it was encouraging to see an established connection between the two.

The best play undoubtedly came on a 28-yard throw and catch in which Diggs displayed his incredible route running. Diggs did an outstanding job of setting up Bradley Roby with a stutter step inside at the top of the route, which allowed him gain outside leverage and explode up the sideline. Cousins threw an extremely accurate ball down the right side, as Diggs laid out for a finger-tip grab just in front of the endzone.

Just a few plays later, the two connected on a one-yard touchdown as Diggs ran an inside slant route for an easy throw and catch. It was after that scoring drive when you just knew, ‘this could be something special’.

Although it was merely one drive, in the preseason no less, the display shown by Cousins was nothing to take lightly. He looked extremely accurate, had powerful velocity on all of his throws and looked to have the confidence desired in a franchise quarterback.

The Vikings will hold joint-practice sessions with the Jacksonville Jaguars on Aug. 15 and 16, in what will be a nice test for Cousins to try things he might not attempt otherwise in a real game setting. The two teams will then play in their second preseason game on Saturday, Aug. 18. Cousins will likely see limited to no action in the Vikings second preseason matchup, but the coaching staff may have already seen what they needed to see.