Stefon Diggs Trade 'Biggest Winner'? New York Jets Over Buffalo Bills in AFC East

Following the trade of the best target on the New York Jets' top rival, is Gang Green the front-runners for the AFC East crown?

Buffalo Bills wide receiver Stefon Diggs (14) cannot complete the pass with pressure from New York / Danielle Parhizkaran/NorthJersey.com /

The trajectory of the AFC East and the New York Jets in 2024 has certainly swung in the last 24 hours.

All-Pro wide receiver Stefon Diggs was traded from the Buffalo Bills to the Houston Texans Wednesday afternoon in a shocking move that moved not only Buffalo's top pass catcher, but a player that has been a thorn in the Jets side in recent years.

In nine games against the Jets (one of the games was when he was a member of the Vikings, Diggs recorded 61 catches for 669 yards and three touchdowns. In 2023, the former fifth-round pick out of Maryland caught 14 passes for 129 yards and a touchdown. Much of his success came against All-Pro cornerback Sauce Gardner.

Buffalo Bills wide receiver Stefon Diggs (14) cannot complete the pass with pressure from New York / Danielle Parhizkaran/NorthJersey.com /

But now Diggs is away from the Bills, and star quarterback Josh Allen. While Allen remains a top quarterback in the league, he hasn't performed well whenever his All-Pro wideout is not in the starting lineup. Without Diggs in the lineup, Allen's completion percentage drops by nine percentage points (65 - 56 percent), and a near 18 point quarterback rating percentage drop (96.9 - 78.2). Most of those numbers come when Allen began his career as a flawed passer, but the message remains the same.

There's no franchise happier to see Diggs leave the AFC East than the Jets. Allen and the Bills have split the season series with New York over the last two years, but have still managed to win the division for each of the last four seasons. Buffalo also has revamped their defense in measures to stay cap compliant.

In short, the Bills will look much different (and perhaps worse) than previous seasons.

That leaves the Jets with a golden opportunity to strike for their first division title since 2002. New York added key pieces in free agency - unlike Buffalo and the Miami Dolphins in their division - and opened the possibility that they'll have the most talented roster in the four-team race for the first time in quite some period.

With four-time NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers leading the helm, key free agents like Tyron Smith and Mike Williams, as well as trade acquisitions in Haason Reddick and Morgan Moses. Few teams in their division added even close to the amount of talent that the Jets were able to bring in.

There's no excuse now for New York to not win the East. If they can't win it with the Dolphins and Bills losing key stars, and the Patriots in a rebuild, they may never will.