Stefon Diggs scores first NFL touchdown
By Chris Bengel
Former Maryland wideout Stefon Diggs has had a phenomenal preseason.
On Thursday evening, he scored his first NFL touchdown with the Minnesota Vikings.
Diggs found the end zone on a nine-yard reception from former Old Dominion star Taylor Heinicke. The former Terrapin ran a slant pattern and Heinicke hit him in stride for the score.
Diggs led the Vikings with eight catches for 85 yards on Thursday night. Over the course of the preseason, the former Good Counsel star has 413 total yards, which are a team high.
He did lose a fumble when he stretched out to try and get a first down.
While Diggs may not see a ton of time on offense, he did average 20.9 yards per punt return during the preseason. Marcus Sherels was Minnesota’s punt returner a year ago, but it’s a strong possbility that Diggs slides into that role.
Thursday’s performance comes after Diggs caught three passes for 49 yards against the Dallas Cowboys. After only catching four passes for 38 yards in the first three preseason games, Diggs caught 11 balls for 134 yards and a touchdown over the final two contests.
Diggs’ performance doesn’t come as a huge surprise given his career at Maryland. During his three years in College Park, the star wideout caught 150 passes for 2,227 yards and 14 touchdowns. Diggs also returned two kickoffs back for touchdowns during his Maryland career.
Diggs has come a long way from the top 10 recruit that announced at Bentley’s “what better place to do it than your city?” The receiver that spurned so many high-profile programs is now proving why he was such a hot commodity and he’s doing it at the highest level in the sport.
With Diggs having this kind of production as a rookie, one can only imagine what he can do with a few seasons of NFL experience. One thing is definitely for sure: it’s going to be fun to watch.