Stefon Diggs makes the Bills a real contender in the AFC

Wide receiver Stefon Diggs is on his way to Buffalo to join quarterback Josh Allen and a Bills team poised to be a threat to the Patriots’ dominance in 2020.

The Buffalo Bills and quarterback Josh Allen gave a glimpse of what is to come during a promising 2019 season that ended in bitter disappointment. On Monday, that future only got brighter.

The Bills are acquiring wide receiver Stefon Diggs in a trade from the Minnesota Vikings, a deal first reported on Monday by FOX’s Jay Glazer. Adam Schefter of ESPN reports the Bills will also receive a seventh-round pick in exchange for a 2020 first-round pick, a fifth- and sixth-round pick, and a fourth-rounder in 2021.

Diggs gives Allen and the Bills offense something they’ve lacked in the two years since drafting the quarterback in the first round: an elite receiver. Diggs had 63 catches for 1,130 yards and six touchdowns for the Vikings last season. The Bills haven’t had a receiver eclipse 1,100 yards in a season since Lee Evans in 2006.

Allen proved to be a threat both with his arm and his legs in 2019, leading the Bills to a 10-win season for the first time in 20 years and their second playoff appearance in three seasons under head coach Sean McDermott. But he struggled when trying to expand the field, completing just 25 percent of his deep throws. His two top receivers, John Brown and Cole Beasley, are quick and reliable pass-catchers, but both are under six feet.

Diggs isn’t a tall receiver at just six feet, but he excels at catching long passes. He was behind only A.J. Brown of the Tennessee Titans in yards per target last season and fourth in yards per reception.

Allen tweeted out his excitement on Monday night about having Diggs to throw to. His acquisition gives the Bills the prospect of Diggs and the speedy Brown running deep routes while Beasley works underneath routes from the slot — a role he’s excelled at in the past with Dallas and Buffalo.

Diggs is just 26 and under contract for four more years and $45 million. He becomes the most dangerous receiver in the division and potentially makes the Bills something they haven’t been since the days when Jim Kelly was throwing to Andre Reed: favorites in the AFC East, particularly if Tom Brady decides to leave the New England Patriots. The Bills haven’t won the division since 1995, the same year they last won a playoff game.

Allen took Buffalo to the cusp of erasing that history in January, building a 16-0 lead over the Houston Texans in the Wild Card round. But they were shut out for the final 21 minutes of regulation and overtime as the gunslinging quarterback made the mistakes he’s still too prone to making. He lost a fumble on a sack while at midfield and was sacked on fourth down with 1:40 remaining. His lack of a deep threat was evident in his desperation heave to fullback Patrick DiMarco in overtime.

Diggs becomes that deep threat now. And if Allen and the Bills are going to take that next step in 2020, Diggs is a receiver that will make it happen.