Stefon Diggs - Almost Traded to Jets! - Key to Bills at Chiefs In Week 6
As the Buffalo Bills continue to savor their 38-3 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, their attention is about to be fixed on their Week 6 opponent, the Kansas City Chiefs.
Having faced-off in consecutive postseason classics in both 2020 and 2021, the two teams are quite familiar with each other. Each boasting one of the game’s most prolific quarterbacks, they also employ some of the deepest arsenals of offensive playmakers.
When the Bills and Chiefs square off on Sunday, Oct. 16 at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium, they will be relying on those offensive weapons to secure victory.
For Buffalo, their top weapon is star wideout Stefon Diggs.
Despite a more-than-competent supporting cast around him, the 28-year-old remains the Bills’ most productive target. Through Buffalo’s first five games, Diggs has caught 39 passes for 508 yards and five touchdowns.
He hauled in eight of 11 targets for 102 yards and a touchdown in the Bills' Week 5 win over Pittsburgh. Diggs led the team in receptions and targets, while finishing second to fellow wideout Gabe Davis in receiving yards. The All-Pro wideout snagged his first touchdown reception since Week 2 on a 15-yard scoring strike from quarterback Josh Allen in the second quarter. For the third time this season, Digges finished with at least 100 receiving yards.
The on-field relationship between Diggs and the Bills has been a match made in gridiron heaven. ... though it almost didn't happen.
In March 2020, the Minnesota Vikings agreed to deal Diggs and their seventh round draft pick to the Bills for their first, fifth, and sixth round picks in the 2020 NFL Draft, in addition to a fourth round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.
But that same deal was almost done with the Bills' AFC East rivals, the Jets.
"When I was about to get traded here, it was a big deal for me," Diggs said to teammate Von Miller on The Von Cast. "From the outside looking in, I was like 'I don't know about Buffalo.' But it was either I go there or the Jets or something like that."
"Something like this'' worked out.
Perhaps the most glaring element missing from Buffalo’s offensive repertoire prior to Diggs’ arrival was a receiver who possessed the ability to get open even when he was covered. Diggs has fit the bill quite nicely, developing a synergy with Bills’ quarterback Josh Allen. In 2021, he hauled in 103 catches for 1225 yards and 10 touchdowns. In the postseason, Diggs has also been a force, logging 26 receptions for 378 yards with two touchdowns in five playoff games.
With quarterback Patricia Mahomes leading a versatile Kansas City offense, Allen and the Bills will look to keep pace by setting the tone early. To do so, they may wish to follow a similar strategy which they employed against the Steelers — utilizing the big play threat through the air. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Allen’s 348 passing yards in the first half were the most in a single half by a Bills player. With Davis proving to be as solid of a second option as there is in the NFL, Diggs may see some open looks, in addition to creating separation from his defenders. Though the Chiefs defense will almost certainly be up to the challenge, Diggs provides Buffalo with the type of x-factor ability to give them the edge in Week 6.
And fortunately for the Bills, he's not providing that for the Jets.
Kickoff for the Bills and Chiefs is set for 4:25pm ET from Kansas City.
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