It's amazing how quickly a Stefon Diggs trade analysis reveals the state of mind of both the Houston Texans and Buffalo Bills. While Diggs has some work to do if he wants to be considered among the greatest WRs of all time, he has made the Pro Bowl in four straight seasons and is at the peak of his career.
Including free agents, he could eventually become one of the best players to change teams this offseason.
Who won the Stefon Diggs trade?
As always, only time will tell how this trade will go. But which side appears to be the winner in the Diggs trade to the Texans?
At first glance, Houston is the clear winner because they got a wide receiver and two late draft picks for a second-round pick that wasn't even their pick in the first place. However, let's do a deeper Stefon Diggs trade analysis that looks at each team's perspective.
Why did Texas win?
The obvious reason the Texans won the deal is because they got a great player. Diggs has gained more than 1,000 yards in six straight seasons, averaging just under nine touchdowns per season during that stretch. He is currently five shy of 10,000 receiving yards and has rarely been hit during his career.
However, aside from the obvious, Diggs is a perfect fit for what Houston's offense needs. Coming off their promising 2023 campaign, the Texans are still young offensively. Despite his stellar rookie season, CJ Stroud could still benefit from having a wide receiver at his disposal, especially one who has proven to be as consistent and reliable as Diggs.
Josh Allen was entering his third season in the NFL when the Bills acquired Diggs, so this should be a familiar situation for him, enabling Diggs to help Stroud take another step forward.
On top of the intangibles he brought to the table, the look of Houston's offense changed with Diggs in the picture. Instead of Nico Collins being the no. No. 1 Receiver Coming off a breakout season, Diggs will take on that role, freeing up Collins to face each team's second-best cornerback. Meanwhile, the Texans still have Tank Dell in the slot with the likes of Robert Woods and John Metchie in the picture as depth.
The Texans also have excellent running back status with Joe Mixon and Damion Pierce along with Dalton Schultz giving Houston a proven tight end. Diggs figures to make all of these players because of the attention he deserves from opposing defenses.
In a way, Diggs adds legitimacy to a team that hopes to compete for the AFC title next season. It represents a missing piece of the puzzle that makes this goal more realistic as long as Stroud can repeat his performance from last season.
Why did you lose bills?
By trading Diggs away, the Bills' offseason plans have been revealed to the rest of the league — just in case there was any doubt. Given their salary cap situation, the Bills have already parted ways with several key players on both sides of the ball. Buffalo will have to rely heavily on Allen and the team's offensive playmakers in 2024, even more than the Bills have done in recent years.
Without Diggs, the playmaking pool is significantly weakened. Curtis Samuel is currently projected to be Buffalo's top wide receiver. This won't inspire much confidence, especially with questions about other parts of the list. Any hope of being able to ride Allen to the Super Bowl in 2024 is greatly diminished with this trade.
In fairness, with or without Diggs, the Bills had a long way to go to reach the Super Bowl this season. If trading Diggs can help them reach the cap for the 2025 season and add an early draft pick to prepare for a serious run two years from now, this trade might not look so bad. But for the foreseeable future, the Bills will be the big losers and the Texans the big winners in this trade.
