Regrading the Vikings-Bills Stefon Diggs trade with Buffalo tenure complete

The Buffalo Bills' rendition of the Game of Thrones Red Wedding continues. Buffalo was forced to release several of their key players to become salary cap compliant before the start of the new league year in March. It was the most significant churning of their roster since 2000, when the Bills released Pro Football Hall of Famers Bruce Smith, Thurman Thomas, and Andre Reed — the last remaining remnants of their Super Bowl teams. The offseason purge seemed to be over after March, but their most drastic move was yet to come.

The Bills traded Diggs to the Houston Texans along with a 2024 sixth-round pick and a 2025 fifth-round pick in exchange for a second-round selection in 2025, NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported on Wednesday.

Diggs' time in Buffalo comes to an end four years. The Bills acquired Diggs in a trade with the Minnesota Vikings before the 2020 NFL season.

Revisiting the Bills and Vikings trade for Stefon Diggs

The 2020 trade appeared to be a rare occasion where everything worked out for both teams, but as time goes on, the outcome appears to be worse for Buffalo.

Minnesota Vikings trade grade

The Vikings had the most selections in the 2020 NFL Draft and the 2021 NFL Draft partially due to this trade, and they made the most of the draft picks they acquired from Buffalo.

The chances of Minnesota drafting a better wide receiver than Diggs were incredibly low, but they found an even better one. Minnesota selected LSU wide receiver Justin Jefferson with the No. 22 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.

Jefferson has proven to be a generational talent through his first four seasons in the league. He was a first-team All-Pro and the NFL Offensive Player of the Year in 2022. Jefferson made the Pro Bowl in three of his four seasons. Playing in a pass-happy offense with a high target-share helps Jefferson, but he hasn't had the same quarterback stability as Diggs. Through their first 25 career games, Jefferson had a much better statistical output than Diggs in a side-by-side comparison of their first 25 career games.

Minnesota traded the 2020 fifth-round pick to the Chicago Bears for a 2021 fourth-round pick. Then, they traded the 2020 sixth-round pick to the Baltimore Ravens for a 2021 fifth-round pick and a pick swap in the seventh round. Ultimately, they wound up with safety Camryn Bynum, defensive end Janarius Robinson, tight end Zach Davidson.

Bynum has developed into a valuable player on the Vikings defense. He has started all 17 regular seasons games in both of the last two seasons. Bynum recorded 137 combined tackles in 2023 — the most by a Vikings safety since 1985.

It's hard to find a negative aspect for Minnesota, especially considering Jefferson was a younger and cheaper option than Diggs.

Minnesota Vikings Grade: ■■■■■■■■■■ 100%

Buffalo Bills trade grade

Along with Diggs, the Bills used the additional draft pick to acquire cornerback Dane Jackson, who compiled three interceptions in 28 career starts with Buffalo. Jackson signed with the Carolina Panthers this offseason.

Diggs made four consecutive Pro Bowls during his time in Buffalo. He was named a first-team All-Pro in 2020 and second-team All-Pro in 2022. Diggs never finished with fewer than 100 receptions or 1,100 receiving yards with Buffalo, but the 2023 season was his worst campaign with the team. He recorded 107 catches for 1,183 yards and eight touchdowns. After Week 9, Diggs ony surpassed 70 receiving yards twice and failed to record a 100 receiving yards during the team's final eight games. He scored just one touchdown during that span.

Diggs was brilliant during his four-year stint in Buffalo, where he developed an instant connection with quarterback Josh Allen. Things appeared to turn sour near the end, however. Diggs was seen shouting at Allen on the sideline during the team's 27-10 playoff loss to the Cincinnati Bengals after the 2022 season. In 2023, the tensions seemed to linger. Diggs inexplicably missed minicamp, and head coach Sean McDermott gave mixed reports about the absence. The disgruntled wideout began sending cryptic tweets about his future in Buffalo after the team's postseason run came to an abrupt end in 2023.

There's no denying that Allen and the Bills offense began to flourish after acquiring Diggs. Allen set career highs in passing yards (4,544) and passing touchdowns (37) in 2020.

Maybe Diggs was necessary for Buffalo at the time of the trade. Allen struggled before the Bills acquired Diggs, and the star wideout could have played a pivotal role in Allen's development. If that's the case, then perhaps the trade was invaluable for the Bills. Still, maybe Allen could have found that same development with Justin Jefferson — and perhaps the Bills would have been able to field a better roster in the past four years without Diggs' massive cap number restricting their ability to add veteran talent. Most importantly, Jefferson would likely still be on their roster, and they may have even been able to keep many of their salary cap casualties this offseason.

Diggs helped with Allen's development and provided four years of production, and the Bills still managed to get a second-round pick in return for the 30-year-old wideout. That's not a bad return for the draft picks they gave up, but it's also not as valuable as Jefferson, Bynum, and the additional salary cap room.

Buffalo Bills Grade: ■■■■■■□□□□ 60%