Stefon Diggs Fantasy News and Statistics

Stefon Diggs has been a boom-bust receiver in his first two seasons in the NFL. Despite respectable season numbers, his totals are often inflated by a few monster games per year. But Diggs is the top receiver with the Minnesota Vikings at age 23, so there’s still plenty of time for him to develop some consistency.

Diggs grew up in Maryland and went to Good Counsel High School in Olney. He was one of the Class of 2012’s most sought-after recruits and received offers from almost every major school in the country. Both Rivals and Scout listed him as a five-star recruit. Scout ranked him as the second-best wide receiver and Rivals ranked him third. ESPN ranked him as a four-star recruit, the third-ranked athlete and 13th best recruit overall. He chose to play in his home state for the University of Maryland over the likes of Florida, Ohio State and Auburn.

Diggs had his best collegiate season as a true freshman. He caught 54 passes for 848 yards and six touchdowns for a struggling Maryland team. The Terrapins finished 4-8 and avoided last place in the ACC with wins over Wake Forest and Virginia. He had one of his best games in a 20-17 road loss to Boston College in which he caught 11 passes for 152 yards and a touchdown. He was also Maryland’s return man, adding 221 punt return yards, 713 kick return yards and two kick return touchdowns. He was second to Jamison Crowder for ACC Freshman of the Year.

His sophomore season unfortunately came to a premature end after suffering a broken fibula in Maryland’s seventh game against Wake Forest. Before going down, he managed to record a career-high 179 yards against Old Dominion. He ended the season with 34 receptions for 587 yards and three touchdowns.

During his junior season, Diggs had more trouble staying on the field. He missed Maryland’s final three games due to a lacerated kidney and a suspension. The suspension arose from a pre-game scuffle with Penn State players that resulted in Diggs making contact with an official. Despite playing without him in their final three games, the Terrapins finished 7-5 and faced Stanford in the Foster Farms Bowl. Diggs had a career-best 62 receptions for 792 yards and five touchdowns on the year, adding 478 kick return yards. When he faced Stanford in Maryland’s bowl game, he caught 10 passes for 138 yards in a 45-21 loss.

Diggs left school after his junior season to enter the 2015 NFL Draft. He was praised for his five-star pedigree, route running and ability to make plays in space. However, he missed 10 career games due to injuries and a suspension. He was also criticized for a lack of strength, inability to run block and a propensity to struggle against top corners. Nonetheless, the Vikings selected Diggs in the fifth round with pick No. 146.

Though Diggs made the Vikings final roster, he was inactive for Minnesota’s first three games. Newly acquired Mike Wallace was Minnesota’s top receiver during that stretch, but he averaged just 50 yards per game and did not score. Diggs led the Vikings with 87 yards in his career debut in Week 4 against the Denver Broncos. He then led the Vikings in receiving in each of the next five games.

However, he would not lead the team in receiving again after Week 10. He finished with a team-high 720 receiving yards for the year, though he picked up 419 of them in his first four games. The Vikings finished 11-5 and lost their Wild Card game to the Seattle Seahawks in the infamous Blair Walsh game.

Diggs was even more effective in his second season. His 903 receiving yards were second on the team to Adam Thielen, though Diggs missed three games to three separate injuries to his groin, knee and hip. Again, a large portion of his yards (58.5 percent) came in four games. He gained fewer than 60 yards in eight of his 13 contests. The Vikes got off to a 5-0 start but missed the playoffs with a record of 8-8.

Diggs and Thielen return in 2017 as Minnesota’s top receivers with 2016 first-round pick Laquon Treadwell also looking to break into the lineup. Diggs will be looking to stay healthy and compete in a full 16-game regular season.