The Minnesota Vikings finally pulled the trigger on a Stefon Diggs trade on Monday night, sending the disgruntled receiver to the Buffalo Bills in a blockbuster trade.
In return for Diggs, the Vikings will receive a first-round pick (25th overall), a fifth-round pick, and a sixth-round pick in this year’s draft. They will also receive a fourth-round pick in 2021.
The Vikings are also sending the Bills a seventh-round pick in the 2020 draft.
The drama between the Vikings and Diggs has gone on seemingly since Mike Zimmer changed offensive philosophies entering the 2019 season. While Diggs established a career-high in yardage, he saw 55 fewer targets than he did in 2018 as the Vikings leaned on a run-heavy attack.
This led to tension throughout the season as Diggs missed practice for “non-football reasons” after the Vikings’ loss to the Bears last October and appeared unhappy late in the Vikings’ playoff win over New Orleans.
A series of ominous tweets from Diggs followed and on Tuesday, he sent out one clamoring for “a new beginning” before telling another user that “something is going to happen.”
That something finally happened in the form of Diggs heading to the AFC and the Vikings raising their total number of picks in the 2020 draft to 13.
Vikings have 13 picks (!) in 2020, including first round selections at 22 and 25. The wide receiver class is LOADED in the draft. I'd heard earlier tonight that Minnesota began fielding calls regarding Diggs and weren't going to take anything less than a 1st. They got that & mo' https://t.co/4krlEKLbOk
— Courtney Cronin (@CourtneyRCronin) March 17, 2020
With the Vikings releasing Xavier Rhodes and Linval Joseph on Friday and the potential for losing more players such as Everson Griffen and Trae Waynes in the coming days, the picks should come in handy as Minnesota tries to rebuild on the fly.
