Vikings make smart gamble by extending Stefon Diggs

Stefon Diggs brings health concerns with him, but the Vikings realize that his football abilities easily outweigh any of those.

This past January, Minnesota Vikings receiver Stefon Diggs brought Vikings fans everywhere incomparable joy when he delivered the “Minnesota Miracle” play in the NFC Divisional round to knock the New Orleans Saints out of the playoffs.

Though he’s done much more in his short career than just that single touchdown catch, it’s plays like that one that let the Vikings organization and their fans know that it’s absolutely worth keeping a young player like Diggs around for the foreseeable future. Minnesota did just that by inking Diggs, the 146th-overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft, to a five-year contract extension worth $72 million.

Diggs comes with a little bit of baggage, however, as his health has proven to be one of his weaknesses thus far in career; in three seasons, he’s yet to play a full 16-game schedule. But any of those concerns are easily overshadowed by the skill and the potential that Diggs brings to this Vikings team. For a team that came just one win short of reaching the Super Bowl, it was a good move by Minnesota to take this chance on Diggs – a young 24-year-old who has a chance to be a great receiver in this league.

“I want to be here. I love being here,” Diggs said, according to NFL.com. “I love being a part of this organization. They took a chance on me early.”

According to Diggs’ teammate, cornerback Xavier Rhodes, Diggs has a tremendous work ethic – another reason why he’s worth the five-year extension.

“Stefon is a hard worker, man, he’s a guy that at first wasn’t labeled as one of the top receivers,” said Rhodes, who has most likely had plenty of experiencing trying to cover Diggs in practice. “But now he’s showing his work. He’s showing he can catch the ball. He can run with the best, catch with the best, jump with the best, whatever. And he deserves to get paid with the best.”

With Diggs now prepared to catch passes from Kirk Cousins in 2018, it will be interesting to see if the Vikings can finally reach the Super Bowl that they just missed a year ago.