Consider USA Today not a fan of the Buffalo Bills this offseason, and especially not in favor of their decision to trade for wide receiver Stefon Diggs.
When handing out grades for the each team in the NFL following hauls from free agency, the Bills earn a tough mark of D-plus:
They made some moves in line with their disciplined approach from recent offseasons, extending underrated S Jordan Poyer through 2022, adding LB A.J. Klein, signing fading veteran CB Josh Norman to a reasonable deal ($6 million in 2020) and loading the D-line with depth (Mario Addison, Vernon Butler and Quinton Jefferson). But why did a club that owned the No. 22 pick in a receiver-rich draft surrender it and three mid-rounders for Diggs, a moody player who’s never been to the Pro Bowl and could disrupt a locker room that boasts carefully crafted chemistry? Seems like a highly questionable risk.
Not only are the Bills ranked extremely low on this list, Buffalo only edges out the Patriots (F), Texans (F), Bears (D-) and Jaguars (D) in terms of grade.
Only time will tell which side to this deal rings true. Was Diggs worth it? Plenty of that depends on Josh Allen, but if you’re one who trusts Buffalo’s front office led by general manager Brandon Beane and head coach Sean McDermott, there’s reason to believe they made the right decision.
Sure, at No. 22 the Bills could’ve landed at top receiver prospect. But regardless, whether the No.1 overall pick or the final pick in a draft, rookies are all a roll of the dice. Diggs is not a roll of the dice. He was when he was a fifth-round rookie, but he’s since proven that he can play at a top level in the NFL, and isn’t that what you want out of your first-round pick? The Bills got that.
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