Even after receiver Stefon Diggs had a couple of big weeks while his teammates have dealt with injuries, Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said he has not decided if Diggs will remain the starter when Charles Johnson returns from injury.
Diggs, a rookie out of Maryland, has posted some big numbers in his two starts this year. Diggs has 13 catches for 216 yards – including his seven catches for 129 yards Sunday against the Chiefs.
Zimmer wasn’t ready to anoint Diggs a starter once Johnson is healthy enough to return.
“You don’t lose your starting job because of injury, but you lose your starting job because of performance,” Zimmer told reporters Monday. “But no, I have not decided that yet.”
Before getting hurt, Johnson had six catches for 46 yards on the year, but he was a big surprise during the second half of last season.
“I just wasn’t feeling (good enough),” Johnson told the Pioneer Press. “I didn’t think I would be up to where I want to be, so I just decided not to go.”
Johnson said he’s planning to play on Sunday at Detroit, and he isn’t concerned with who starts.
“We’ll see what happens,” Johnson told the newspaper. “I mean, Diggs is a hell of a player.”
Diggs was inactive for the first three games of the season and made his debut at Denver, catching six passes. He followed that up with Sunday’s encore performance.
#Vikings Stefon Diggs on all media attention he’s getting: “It comes with the success on the field. I just got to handle it the right way.’’
— Chris Tomasson (@christomasson) October 19, 2015
“He works really hard and he runs good routes, he catches the ball good,” Zimmer said. “He’s competitive, he really wants to be good and so I think that’s why he works so hard at it. And he’s talented as well.”
Zimmer wasn’t the only one singing Diggs’ praises. Fellow receiver Mike Wallace says Diggs reminds him of Pittsburgh’s Antonio Brown.
