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Vikings rookie WR Stefon Diggs was really impressive vs. DEN

By Sayre Bedinger

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It wasn’t going to be an easy task last weekend for the Minnesota Vikings and 2nd year quarterback Teddy Bridgewater to go into Denver and beat the Broncos, but they put up their best fight and nearly pulled off a comeback from down 13-0 in the end.

That’s thanks large in part to the play of their wide receivers, namely Mike Wallace, Adam Theilen, and rookie Stefon Diggs, who was making his NFL debut. We’ve written about Theilen before, and we all know what Wallace is, but where did Diggs come from, and why as he not active before this game?

The Vikings had been holding out hope that last year’s breakout player Charles Johnson could provide in 2015 what he did in 2014 on a more consistent basis, but that hasn’t been the case thus far. Johnson was inactive for this game against the Broncos, opening the door for the rookie out of Maryland to make his impact.

I was incredibly impressed.

Working against what I believe to be two of the five or six best cornerbacks in the NFL in Chris Harris Jr. and Aqib Talib as well as former first round pick Bradley Roby, Diggs not only held his own, he was making people look foolish out there. Here he is on a play vs. Aqib Talib:

You can see the incredible quickness from Diggs, which he was known for (when healthy) at Maryland. I remember a game last year against Iowa and the Hawkeyes where he was absolutely dominant from start to finish. He did that in a game against two future NFL cornerbacks in Desmond King and Greg Mabin (9 catches, 130 yards, 1 TD) and now he’s doing it in the NFL. In Diggs’ debut for the Vikings, he was winning in almost every situation, prompting a great response from his coaches with the Vikings.

The expectations have now been set. It has only been one game, so it remains to be seen whether or not Diggs is going to take over the #2 role in Minnesota now that it looks like Mike Wallace has finally found a bit of a niche, but it’s certainly possible.

In this game, going against a secondary full of pro bowl players, Diggs was targeted 10 times and caught six passes. He picked on the former first rounder Roby to the tune of 4 catches on 6 targets, and looked great averaging over 14 yards per grab in that matchup.

The draft community has been eagerly anticipating Diggs’ debut, and I’m sure Vikings fans have been as well. He looks like an absolute steal in this past year’s draft, and signs point to him being able to improve upon this performance.

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