Stefon Diggs appears to be a bit disgruntled this offseason. Should a team like the Pittsburgh Steelers swoop in and trade for the star WR?
Has it come to that point already? Former Vikings receiver in the NFC Championship Game needs to move on. In the distant past, that meant Randy Moss going to Oakland. Recent moves meant that Stefon Diggs went to Buffalo. But has he already played his last regular season game there?
There is a place that accepts mercurial receivers.
Pittsburgh!
You know the story. LeVeon Bell was a running back, but what about Martavis Bryant? Plaxico Burress? Antonio Brown? Chase Claypool?
All of them had their moments. Bryant averaged 21.1 yds a catch as a rookie; Claypool 9 TDs as a rookie, but Brown was the star. 129 catches in 2014 while leading the league in receiving yards with 1698. Had 136 catches in 2015. Led the league with 15 TDs in 2018, his last season in Pittsburgh.
But I left out one.
Mike Wallace.
The 60 Minutes guy?
No, the guy who at one point, was the best #3 receiver in the game. The guy that Big Ben could not overthrow.
Averaged 19 yds a catch as a rookie; 21 yds the next season; Pro Bowl in his third season. By year 5, he was in Miami, unhappy that he wasn’t getting the ball enough.
Pittsburgh doesn’t really worry long term about WR or RB, that is for QB, OL, DL, LB. You add Diggs to Kenny Pickett, Dionte Johnson and George Pickens, this becomes one of the better offenses in the AFC. And if you think that Pickett isn’t good enough to take advantage of Diggs, Case Keenum did.
What would Diggs bring to this offense? That is interesting, because with the exception of Claypool, all of these are deep threats. Diggs really isn’t one, as he has only averaged over 14 yds a catch once, his last year in Minnesota when he went for 17.9.
Diggs also turns 30 this year. Pennsylvania fans have had success with a 30 year old, but in Philly as that is when Terrell Owens joined them, helping lead their Super Bowl run in 2004.
With his skillset, you could see Johnson, Diggs and Pickens as their big 3, with Pickens being the deep threat. There is enough room for Johnson and Diggs to be co-#1’s. Without Diggs, Allen Robinson would be projected as their #3. He had 33 receptions last year, which is his lowest in a full season. The bench is even more of a question mark, though they may be fun to watch in preseason, as Miles Boykin- 2 catches in 2022, Cody White(1), Hakeem Butler(2020 draft pick with zero career catches) and Gunner Olszewski, who is more of a PR/KR, would all be in the running for more playing time.
I haven’t talked about the tight ends yet, but Diggs has worked well with both Kyle Rudolph and Dawson Knox over the years. Teams that Diggs have been on have been able to use tight ends in the red zone, and with Pat Freiermuth and Darnell Washington, I assume that you could have the same level of success.
With only a month to go until training camps open around the league, it will be interesting to see whether Diggs gets a new start in another city, goes back to Buffalo and get them their long awaited Super Bowl title, or whether we have a Jalen Ramsey style situation, which goes so bad that they have to get rid of him before the season is over.
I’m betting on the Pittsburgh Steelers being the team that solves the problem.