There’s speculation nationally in regard to the Buffalo Bills’ decision to trade for wide receiver Stefon Diggs. It cost the Bills a slew of picks, including their first rounder in the upcoming 2020 NFL Draft.
Did the Bills pay too high of a price? Perhaps, perhaps not. Only time will tell. But CBS Sports is forecasting forward and saying it won’t work out.
Pegging their 10 worst moves of this offseason, the outlet named the Diggs deal among the worst in the league this offseason:
9. Bills trade for WR Stefon Diggs
The move: Buffalo trades a 2020 first-round pick, a 2020 fifth-round pick, a 2020 sixth-round pick and a 2021 fourth-round pick to the Vikings for Diggs and a 2020 seventh-round pick
Diggs instantly makes Buffalo’s offense better, and he’s still just 26, under contract through 2023. Bills fans should be excited to have him. But there’s no denying the price was steep for a guy who, at best, replicates the role John Brown already plays for Josh Allen. The latter, of course, is notoriously erratic throwing the football, especially on deep balls, so it’s not hard to envision Diggs tossing a helmet or two once he’s spent a year or two outside of the confines of U.S. Bank Stadium. For the first-, fourth- and fifth-rounders the Bills essentially gave up here, they could’ve easily dipped into this year’s deep WR class, gotten a younger, bigger target and built more around their ground game.
The price certainly could be considered steep for Diggs, but the Bills are doing what good teams do with this move as well.
Buffalo sees an opportunity, right now, to win. Their defense is elite, their offensive output got better last year, and by Year 3, most prospects, especially quarterbacks, take the biggest “step” in their development. In that light, we’re naturally talking about quarterback Josh Allen.
While CBS Sports does make some good points, such as Diggs’ attitude issues in the past and Allen’s past questions about his accuracy, only time will tell if this move is worth it. But one thing for certain: It’s too early to declare this a bad move for the Bills just yet, give it time.
Diggs is proven, Allen’s shown improvement in the past, and the Bills clearly have great aspects to their team. Let’s check back here in a few months.
For what it’s worth, things could be worse. The Bills could be the Texans on this list. They don’t just take the top spot, they take the top two. No. 1 is their decision to trade wideout DeAndre Hopkins to the Cardinals, and that’s followed up with their choice to replace him with Randall Cobb.
Ouch.
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