The Bills lost one of their top receivers during the 2024 NFL offseason when Gabe Davis signed with the Jaguars.
Davis was only the first domino to fall, as Stefon Diggs is also departing Buffalo.
The Bills traded their veteran, No. 1 receiver to the Texans on Wednesday, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Buffalo will obtain a high-end 2025 NFL Draft pick for the 30-year-old receiver.
Diggs enjoyed an excellent, four-season run with the Bills after being acquired via trade from the Vikings in 2020. He averaged 115 receptions, 1,384 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns per 17 games played in Buffalo and never recorded fewer than 1,183 yards in a season.
But things appeared to turn sour during Diggs’ final year-plus in Buffalo. It began when he demonstratively shouted at Bills quarterback Josh Allen on the sideline during the team’s 27-10 loss to the Bengals in the 2023 NFL playoffs. From there, Diggs became mercurial, with tensions between him and Allen lingering during the former’s unexplained minicamp absence.
The two coexisted well during the 2023 NFL season, but after another early postseason exit, Diggs began sending cryptic tweets about his future in Buffalo. He also threw shade at Allen with a two-word post on X (formerly Twitter) the night before he was traded to Houston.
That the Bills traded Diggs amid his antics and clashes with Buffalo leadership wasn’t a major surprise. That said, Buffalo’s return for the veteran receiver was a bit more surprising — and not in a good way.
MORE: A timeline of Stefon Diggs’ cryptic tweets, from Vikings trade to Josh Allen drama
The Sporting News is breaking down the Diggs trade and why the Texans appear to have gotten the better side of the deal.
Stefon Diggs trade details
Texans get:
- WR Stefon Diggs
- 2024 sixth-round pick
- 2025 fifth-round pick
Bills get:
- 2025 second-round pick
MORE: SN’s full, 7-round mock draft | Top 200 big board
Stefon Diggs trade grades
Texans: A-
The Texans already had two good-looking receivers in Nico Collins and Tank Dell. Now, they are adding another explosive receiver to team up with C.J. Stroud, and it didn’t even cost them a current-year draft pick.
Diggs has been one of the NFL’s most consistent receivers in recent years, posting six consecutive 1,000-yard seasons and catching at least 103 passes in each of his four seasons with the Bills. He has played in at least 14 games each season dating back to 2017, so his durability will be an asset to a Texans receiving corps that dealt with injury issues last season.
Diggs is an inside-outside threat who will add some needed versatility to the Houston offense. Offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik will be able to move him around to target specific matchups, which should help Diggs get open while freeing up big plays for vertical threats Collins and Dell.
Further, Diggs’ presence will allow the Texans to better utilize the explosive but undersized Dell (5-10, 165 pounds). They can spell the talented speedster in two-receiver sets while avoiding having him on the field to block in obvious running situations.
The main concern with Diggs is that he has become a locker-room malcontent at each of his last two stops. That could happen again if Houston doesn’t take the step forward that many are expecting. He also is 30, so he could decline at some point during the four years remaining on his $96 million contract.
At the same time, it’s not like the Texans are surrendering a lot to get Diggs. They are just giving up a second-round pick next year to land him. They still have plenty of draft capital they can use to improve their team this year, and even added a sixth-round pick to the fold in the trade.
As such, this seems like a good value for Houston. The Texans now possess one of the AFC’s best offenses and are positioned to be a legitimate title contender during Stroud’s rookie contract. The trade isn’t without risk, but unless Diggs’ play completely falls off or he pulls an Antonio Brown, it’s hard to imagine him falling that far short of expectations in Houston.
MORE: How Stefon Diggs’ stats declined after Joe Brady’s in-season promotion
Bills: C-
The Bills’ initial trade to acquire Stefon Diggs was viewed as a mutually beneficial pact with the Vikings that netted each team a No. 1 receiver. Four years later, the Bills are wishing they had kept their 2020 NFL Draft pick to select Justin Jefferson rather than take a swing for Diggs.
Diggs enjoyed a strong four seasons in Buffalo, but the Bills didn’t win anything with him there. They made it to just one AFC championship game and didn’t play in a Super Bowl.
In short, Diggs was supposed to help put Buffalo and its offense over the top. That never materialized despite the veteran receiver’s strong performance across four seasons with the Bills.
Now, the Bills are selling low on Diggs. Maybe they had to; he was a locker-room malcontent for them over his last year-plus in Buffalo, so that — along with a strong rookie receiver class and Diggs’, four-year extension that kicked in this offseason — may have made it difficult for the team to acquire a high-end pick for the 30-year-old.
Still, to not get a 2024 NFL Draft asset in exchange for Diggs seems less than ideal. This year’s draft is loaded at the receiver position, so Buffalo could have obtained a quality replacement for Diggs with an extra second-round pick. And they need one, as Curtis Samuel and Khalil Shakir currently project to be Buffalo’s top receivers.
Instead, the Bills actually surrendered a late-round pick this year to get a future second. That could pan out, but giving up a high-end talent with no clear replacement doesn’t seem like a smart move for a team whose goal is to win now.
Again, maybe Diggs forced Buffalo’s hand, but this still feels like a loss of value for the Bills.