Diggs - will he resurface as the Bills go to WR in 2024?

[BarleyNY]

13 minutes ago, SoonerBillsFan said:

He doesn't create separation like he did even in 2021.  

He’s falling off to be sure. I expect him to be a top 32 WR this season, but I have no such expectations beyond that. We need to restock the WR position and the draft is the place to do that. Well, that and the trade market if we can swing something there for a younger player. 

[Alphadawg7]

My answers:  

 

OTHER - Diggs drop in play has a lot of factors built into it.  One, Dorsey's offense was unimaginative and predictable.  And because of that, we didn't run the ball and we had an over reliance on Diggs and it stalled the offense.  Once Brady took over, he wasn't able to install his own offense, but had to work more with what was here and make tweaks to try and get some sort of consistency in our ability to extend drives and score.  That focus became 2 fold...an increase in the run game as we saw Cook breakout, and also on short passes as an extension of the run game.  Diggs was still used down field, but not to the degree it had been.  

 

In addition, you had Josh was playing with an injury to his shoulder the whole back half of the season and Josh said he literally had to change how he delivered the ball to manage that issue and the discomfort.  What we saw is Josh not as sharp downfield as he normally is, this prevented Allen and Diggs downfield connection from being as sharp as it was and we saw Diggs plenty of times torch his defender and get open and Allen just couldn't connect.  

 

And if you go back and watch the second half of the season, you will see Diggs still capable of beating the defenders, but between being used differently, the change at OC, and Allens injury, it just really impacted everything.  And I think we saw Diggs struggle with that a little bit too where we saw a few more drops because he just wasn't in the same rhythm as before and maybe was looking upfield for YAC more before the ball got there and just didn't bring in some balls.  

 

NOT UPSET BECAUSE THEY SHOULD GO BPA - Anyone who thinks its WR or nothing at 28 would make a terrible GM.  UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES should they ever lock into ONE position and take a LESSER prospect over more talented players.  This team has a lot of needs, and WR isn't even the top need.  It is maybe the top priority, but not our biggest hole in a draft that is both rich and deep at WR.  

 

Lets be clean, I also WANT a WR like many others in the first, but once the big 3 are gone, if there is a run on WR's the last thing I want them doing is reaching for a 2nd round WR over say one of the better prospects in the draft at another position.  Here is the reality...After the big 3, it is possible only Thomas has a first round grade on Beanes board, maybe Mitchell too although he has some question marks about why his stats don't match his elite traits.  So I think he could move up for Thomas (maybe Mitchell), but if both are gone, I think Beane might either take another position or move back some and target someone like Coleman or McConkey while picking up an extra 3rd or something.  

 

The best thing to happen to Beane and the Bills was Worthy running a 4.22 and moving his potential draft slot from the 2nd round into maybe the first round. No way Beane is looking at this guy for Buffalo, so hopefully he helps push Thomas down closer to us to strike and go up and get, especially now that we just got awarded a 4th round comp pick adding yet another pick to our arsenal to help move around the draft.  

[BBFL]

1 hour ago, stuvian said:

I hope we find a way to keep him. He still has the afterburners and makes big plays in big games. If we have a complimentary threat he is more or less unstoppable. The chemistry with he and Josh is real and would be hard to duplicate with new faces. I like having a player of his demeanour on the Bills. He's crazy to win

I still think Diggs at worst is a low-end #1/high-end #2 in this league but the bolded statement is where I completely disagree.

 

Diggs disappeared the last 5 games of the season and didn’t do much in either playoff game he appeared in.

 

Factor in the year prior where he had a decent game against Miami but then was a no show the following week resulting in a one score loss to KC…

 

2021 ended no different… Did nothing in either game against New England or KC. 

The last time he showed up consistently in the big games was when we went to the AFCC in the 2020 season. Since then he's played a total of 6 games; 2 each season. 
 

In those 6 big games he’s total 46/27/289/0 for an average of 7/4.5/48… Remove the Miami game (9/7/114/0) he’s at 37/20/175/0….

 

That ain’t showing up my brother. I love him but there needs to be someone else. There was a reason the guy everyone hated in Gabe showed up on the playoffs… Stef’ disappears. 
 

 

 

Edited March 10 by BBFL

[JerseyBills]

1 hour ago, BuffaloBill said:

One of the biggest mysteries to last season was Diggs lack of production in the back half of last season.  His production must return in 2024 given his presence, role and cap hit.

 

This is not intended as a bash Diggs thread. Rather, what do you think happened nad how does it play into Buffalo’s draft?

Is it a coincidence it happened when Brady was oc? 

He had a MONSTER 1st half of the year, a guy doesn't just fall off that bad mid season.  Feel like he had an injury qnd teams always prioritize him. 

Brady now has a full off season to get 14 better opportunities 

 

And as far as the draft. I def want WR but don't want them to reach in rd 1. I'd go bpa between C,DT,DE, WR and possibly S

Edited March 10 by JerseyBills

[GunnerBill]

I think the drop of was a mix of defenses keying in, him being banged up and losing maybe half a step and Josh missed him on two of three deep balls where he was wide open. Hit a couple of those it makes a big difference to the numbers.

[AZSanta]

1 hour ago, BuffaloBill said:

One of the biggest mysteries to last season was Diggs lack of production in the back half of last season.  His production must return in 2024 given his presence, role and cap hit.

 

This is not intended as a bash Diggs thread. Rather, what do you think happened nad how does it play into Buffalo’s draft?

I've posted a thread on this topic and irt was met with major criticism. I still believe he is a top WR in the NFL when properly motivated. My take is this he quit on the team. He has been griping about the way the team is run for 2 years now. I think he has a problem with Mcdermott's coaching style and possibly his personality . He has seen his coach lose to the Chiefs in the playoffs 3 years now. One of which was a heartbreaking, stunning loss when they had the lead with 13 seconds left in the game. IN the Philly game. this past season, he took himself out of the game on several occasions on third down with the game on the line. The offense is totally different and much easier to defend without him on the filed. People tried to tell  me he was winded or hurt. He is a well conditioned top athlete and prides himself on offseason training. The guy has a work ethic unmatched by a lot NFL players. He is not going to take himself out of the game because he is out of winded. You can see it his body language. He wasn't going all out for balls and had several uncharacteristic drops in the final 8 games of the season. Was he injured? He was never on any injury report. Correct me if i am wrong but that is illegal in the NFL for an injured player to practice all week and play without being on an injury report. His brother has been dissing the Bills and is probably constantly in his ear to get out of Buffalo. I simply believe he has become disenchanted with the team and wants out of Buffalo. The only way to do that is to force a trade by not giving your all in games and by giving hints you want out. This is the only thing that makes sense to me. 

[GoBills808]

Your go to WR doesn't drop game winning passes in the playoffs

[MJS]

I think the primary issue is his attitude. There's something wrong with him and it impacts his play on the field. He is an extremely emotional player. When the emotions are high, he is unstoppable. When they are low, he barely shows up.

[Mike in Horseheads]

49 minutes ago, Alphadawg7 said:

My answers:  

 

OTHER - Diggs drop in play has a lot of factors built into it.  One, Dorsey's offense was unimaginative and predictable.  And because of that, we didn't run the ball and we had an over reliance on Diggs and it stalled the offense.  Once Brady took over, he wasn't able to install his own offense, but had to work more with what was here and make tweaks to try and get some sort of consistency in our ability to extend drives and score.  That focus became 2 fold...an increase in the run game as we saw Cook breakout, and also on short passes as an extension of the run game.  Diggs was still used down field, but not to the degree it had been.  

 

In addition, you had Josh was playing with an injury to his shoulder the whole back half of the season and Josh said he literally had to change how he delivered the ball to manage that issue and the discomfort.  What we saw is Josh not as sharp downfield as he normally is, this prevented Allen and Diggs downfield connection from being as sharp as it was and we saw Diggs plenty of times torch his defender and get open and Allen just couldn't connect.  

 

And if you go back and watch the second half of the season, you will see Diggs still capable of beating the defenders, but between being used differently, the change at OC, and Allens injury, it just really impacted everything.  And I think we saw Diggs struggle with that a little bit too where we saw a few more drops because he just wasn't in the same rhythm as before and maybe was looking upfield for YAC more before the ball got there and just didn't bring in some balls.  

 

NOT UPSET BECAUSE THEY SHOULD GO BPA - Anyone who thinks its WR or nothing at 28 would make a terrible GM.  UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES should they ever lock into ONE position and take a LESSER prospect over more talented players.  This team has a lot of needs, and WR isn't even the top need.  It is maybe the top priority, but not our biggest hole in a draft that is both rich and deep at WR.  

 

Lets be clean, I also WANT a WR like many others in the first, but once the big 3 are gone, if there is a run on WR's the last thing I want them doing is reaching for a 2nd round WR over say one of the better prospects in the draft at another position.  Here is the reality...After the big 3, it is possible only Thomas has a first round grade on Beanes board, maybe Mitchell too although he has some question marks about why his stats don't match his elite traits.  So I think he could move up for Thomas (maybe Mitchell), but if both are gone, I think Beane might either take another position or move back some and target someone like Coleman or McConkey while picking up an extra 3rd or something.  

 

The best thing to happen to Beane and the Bills was Worthy running a 4.22 and moving his potential draft slot from the 2nd round into maybe the first round. No way Beane is looking at this guy for Buffalo, so hopefully he helps push Thomas down closer to us to strike and go up and get, especially now that we just got awarded a 4th round comp pick adding yet another pick to our arsenal to help move around the draft.  

Alpha... if Josh's shoulder is bothering him  so much maybe he should knock off the golf, jet setting and get something done about it.

...As for Diggs, I think he was injured physically and mentally. I agree with others we need to draft high a WR

[BarleyNY]

15 minutes ago, AZSanta said:

I've posted a thread on this topic and irt was met with major criticism. I still believe he is a top WR in the NFL when properly motivated. My take is this he quit on the team. He has been griping about the way the team is run for 2 years now. I think he has a problem with Mcdermott's coaching style and possibly his personality . He has seen his coach lose to the Chiefs in the playoffs 3 years now. One of which was a heartbreaking, stunning loss when they had the lead with 13 seconds left in the game. IN the Philly game. this past season, he took himself out of the game on several occasions on third down with the game on the line. The offense is totally different and much easier to defend without him on the filed. People tried to tell  me he was winded or hurt. He is a well conditioned top athlete and prides himself on offseason training. The guy has a work ethic unmatched by a lot NFL players. He is not going to take himself out of the game because he is out of winded. You can see it his body language. He wasn't going all out for balls and had several uncharacteristic drops in the final 8 games of the season. Was he injured? He was never on any injury report. Correct me if i am wrong but that is illegal in the NFL for an injured player to practice all week and play without being on an injury report. His brother has been dissing the Bills and is probably constantly in his ear to get out of Buffalo. I simply believe he has become disenchanted with the team and wants out of Buffalo. The only way to do that is to force a trade by not giving your all in games and by giving hints you want out. This is the only thing that makes sense to me. 

 

I think the injury reporting rule is that teams are required to report any injury that prevents a player from practicing or practicing fully - or is otherwise significant. He could’ve been dinged, but not so much so that it prevented him from practicing. 

 

That said, it’s been obvious that he hasn’t been happy here for years. It’s entirely plausible that his effort and desire to stay on the field aren’t what they should be. He could not have been happy with Brady’s focus on the run game. It’s probably best for the Bills to move on ASAP. My prediction is that either the Bills trade him or things get worse with him and the team. He’s been quiet, but that won’t last forever. 

Edited March 10 by BarleyNY

[Mike in Horseheads]

10 minutes ago, BarleyNY said:

 

I think the injury reporting rule is that teams are required to report any injury that prevents a player from practicing or practicing fully - or is otherwise significant. He could’ve been dinged, but not so much so that it prevented him from practicing. 

 

That said, it’s been obvious that he hasn’t been happy here for years. It’s entirely plausible that his effort and desire to stay on the field aren’t what they should be. He could not have been happy with Brady’s focus on the run game. It’s probably best for the Bills to move on ASAP. My prediction is that either the Bills trade him or things get worse with him and the team. He’s been quiet, but that won’t last forever. 

I think the problem is if they trade him or cut him theres a huge dead cap hit. Realistically , what could they trade him for?

[Ya Digg?]

29 minutes ago, AZSanta said:

I've posted a thread on this topic and irt was met with major criticism. I still believe he is a top WR in the NFL when properly motivated. My take is this he quit on the team. He has been griping about the way the team is run for 2 years now. I think he has a problem with Mcdermott's coaching style and possibly his personality . He has seen his coach lose to the Chiefs in the playoffs 3 years now. One of which was a heartbreaking, stunning loss when they had the lead with 13 seconds left in the game. IN the Philly game. this past season, he took himself out of the game on several occasions on third down with the game on the line. The offense is totally different and much easier to defend without him on the filed. People tried to tell  me he was winded or hurt. He is a well conditioned top athlete and prides himself on offseason training. The guy has a work ethic unmatched by a lot NFL players. He is not going to take himself out of the game because he is out of winded. You can see it his body language. He wasn't going all out for balls and had several uncharacteristic drops in the final 8 games of the season. Was he injured? He was never on any injury report. Correct me if i am wrong but that is illegal in the NFL for an injured player to practice all week and play without being on an injury report. His brother has been dissing the Bills and is probably constantly in his ear to get out of Buffalo. I simply believe he has become disenchanted with the team and wants out of Buffalo. The only way to do that is to force a trade by not giving your all in games and by giving hints you want out. This is the only thing that makes sense to me. 

Has he though? Honest question, has he personally been griping? Or is it more people’s perceptions and saying he has been griping? 

[GoBills808]

5 minutes ago, Mike in Horseheads said:

I think the problem is if they trade him or cut him theres a huge dead cap hit. Realistically , what could they trade him for?

I think they can trade him after June for savings and a 2025 hit

2 minutes ago, Ya Digg? said:

Has he though? Honest question, has he personally been griping? Or is it more people’s perceptions and saying he has been griping? 

Of course he has 

[Mike in Horseheads]

1 minute ago, GoBills808 said:

I think they can trade him after June for savings and a 2025 hit

Thanks.  i hear and read so many different things I have no idea whats true

[DCofNC]

The guy is a whiny brat, he checked out.  He never wanted to take a hit, always diving down or going OB, which I get, but when they asked him to play more physical, take passes behind the LoS he quit.  His lack of focus was obvious in the drops, etc.  He needs a change of scenery, wish the Bills hadn’t trusted him and gave him a contract that makes it almost impossible to offload him without hurting themselves in a bad way.

[AZSanta]

12 minutes ago, Ya Digg? said:

Has he though? Honest question, has he personally been griping? Or is it more people’s perceptions and saying he has been griping? 

He was excused from training camp on day one and Mcdermott said he was very concerned about why he left so there is that plus him storming out of the locker-room after the Cincy loss. These are actions of an unhappy player. I'm sure Diggs is smart enough to know personally and publicly blasting the team is bad business for him, especially the way he left Minnesota. 

[transient]

I think he can still be an effective #1 if he has a true #2... or a #1 in waiting... opposite him on the roster. I don't think he's the same player he was when we traded for him, though, and I don't think he has the ability to dominate without an adequate cast of WRs around him, something he hasn't had since Beasely and Sanders were on the team and still had something to give.

 

I said I'd be really upset if we didn't draft a WR in the first round because we need a WR of that caliber to get the most out of the time Diggs does have left with the Bills, in my opinion, AND drafting a first round WR gives us more flexibility on a high dollar position because of the 5th year.

 

Assuming the player pans out, it should make the combination of Diggs, Shakir, Kinkaid, and Cook more effective and it should help from a cap perspective in the short term. I can't imagine it's not the position they're targeting given the report that it was their goal last season and they shifted to Kinkaid once the last WR they had with a 1st round grade came off the board.

 

Fill out the rest of the WR room either with a later round pick or with a JAG with some speed... hell, throw Isabella out there for that matter. It's not a position I'd expect that we'd need much production from if we add a true #2/#1b and Shakir and Kinkaid continue to develop.

[transient]

56 minutes ago, GoBills808 said:

Your go to WR doesn't drop game winning passes in the playoffs

That's very optimistic of you. There would have been lots of time left on the clock, and since the fantasy rosters had to be set prior to kickoff, the Bills still would have had to use their defense to stop the Chiefs.

[Your Brown Eye]

Yes

Lost a step

I may break something

[ExWNYer]

2 hours ago, FireChans said:

He is arguably the biggest playoff no-show on the team.

 

That would be the defensive-minded Head Coach's precious defense.