Maryland Football: Stefon Diggs could become elite wideout in 2017

Stefon Diggs has enjoyed tremendous success during his first two NFL seasons.

In 2017, Diggs has a chance to break through and become one of the top wide receivers in the NFL.

After being selected in the fifth round of the 2015 NFL Draft, Diggs has caught 136 passes for 1,623 yards and seven touchdowns during his time with the Minnesota Vikings. In five games during that time, the former Maryland star has topped the century mark in receiving yards.

Diggs is coming off a season in which he hauled in 84 passes for 903 yards and three touchdowns. That’s up from his rookie campaign when he recorded 52 receptions for 720 yards and four touchdowns.

When speaking to reporters last week, Diggs did attribute his drop in production during the second half of last season to a nagging groin injury. Diggs said that he was “never the same” after suffering the injury in Week 4.

During the first two weeks of the season, Diggs caught 16 passes for 185 yards and a touchdown in wins over the Green Bay Packers and Tennessee Titans. After topping the 100-yard mark in the first two weeks, he only reached that plateau once during the remainder of the season.

It was clear that Diggs established a great rapport with quarterback Sam Bradford in 2016.

Diggs was targeted at least five times in every game he played in, including four games where he was targeted on double-digit occasions. In all four of those contests, the Minnesota wideout had no fewer than 80 receiving yards.

The elevated number of targets was due partly to Diggs’ ability to run underneath routes. His speed allows him to catch the ball and immediately turn upfield.

This was extremely evident against the Washington Redskins in Week 10. Diggs tied a season-high with 13 receptions for 164 yards and registered 10.93 yards-per-target (fourth highest of the season).

Yards-after-catch has always been one of the biggest parts of Diggs’ game. During his time at Maryland, he produced several highlight reel plays, including touchdown receptions of 66 or more yards in all three of his seasons in College Park.

Diggs offers the ability to beat defensive backs down the field while also being a possession receiver when he has to be.

There’s definitely reason to believe that Diggs could be even more productive in his third NFL season.

The former Terp will have a full offseason with Bradford where as the former number one pick was acquired in early September a season ago after Teddy Bridgewater suffered a torn ACL. The connection between Bradford and Diggs has the potential to be even stronger with a full offseason of working together.

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There’s no question that Diggs has performed admirably during his first two years at the professional level. However, there’s also no reason to think that he can’t surpass his sophomore numbers and become an elite wideout this coming season.