Stefon Diggs has been traded to the Buffalo Bills while the Minnesota Vikings get a host of draft picks in return. Grading the trade for both teams.
As the legal tampering period of NFL free agency got off to a wild start, buzz that Stefon Diggs could be traded from the Minnesota Vikings started brewing. The wide receiver himself ominously hinted at a potential deal brewing on Twitter but, as we reached Monday night, nothing had happened. That’s when the Buffalo Bills came into view.
In need of a true No. 1 wide receiver in the Josh Allen-led offense, general manager Brandon Beane came in and made the second blockbuster wide receiver trade of Monday, acquiring Stefon Diggs from the Vikings in exchange for a host of draft picks. Jay Glazer of FOX Sports was the first to report the trade.
NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero then offered the full scope of the trade between the Bills and Vikings, which includes Buffalo sending Minnesota their 2020 first-round pick.
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
Considering the situation for both teams, it’s hard not to think that this was a win-win for the two teams. But who has a slight edge in this trade? Maybe neither. But let’s hand out a grade to each club and see how they made out.
Buffalo Bills Grade
Last offseason, the Bills were slightly aggressive in trying to upgrade the offense around their young quarterback, signing Cole Beasley and John Brown in free agency. While that helped, Buffalo still very clearly lacked the reliable alpha dog in the pass-catching corps. That changes with Stefon Diggs coming into the fold.
Some might argue that giving up a first-round pick for Diggs was a steep price to pay for the Bills and, to be sure, it is. At the same time, Buffalo was likely going to use that first-rounder (No. 22 overall) to select a wide receiver. Now, they get a proven commodity that has posted back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons and has 4,623 yards over five NFL seasons. And he’s only 26 years old to boot.
The only reason that the Bills don’t get top marks for this trade is the simple fact that they had to give up two more picks in the 2020 draft and one more in the 2021 draft while only recouping a seventh-rounder for this year. But to get the player they needed, it’s hard to not love what they did here.
Final Grade: A
Minnesota Vikings Grade
After watching the Texans get fleeced in the DeAndre Hopkins trade on Monday, the Vikings made sure the same thing wasn’t about to happen to them. As such, they got tremendous value for an asset that was clearly distressed and wanted out of Minnesota.
Trading Diggs undoubtedly leaves the Vikings’ wide receiving corps in a worse position because, well, Diggs is a very good NFL wide receiver. But they now have two first-round picks in a wide receiver rich 2020 NFL Draft to either take one at either spot and then address another need or to move up and get one of the elite prospects at the position if they feel the need to.
Furthermore, a team that was cap-strapped is decidedly less so after making this trade as Diggs was a big number on their books. For a team that’s been in a good position for quite some time trading away a great player, it’s hard to do better than what Minnesota was able to do in this trade.
Final Grade: A