Redskins should explore trading for Stefon Diggs amid reported unrest

Stefon Diggs is reportedly unhappy with the Minnesota Vikings. The Washington Redskins should explore trading for him if he is, in fact, available.

Over the course of the first month of the NFL season, there were rumblings that Stefon Diggs wasn’t happy with the Minnesota Vikings. The 25-year-old receiver was coming off his first 1,000-yard season of his career and had a career-high nine touchdowns in 2018 with Kirk Cousins. But in 2019, it has been a different story.

Through four games to start the season, Diggs has only caught 13 passes for 209 yards and a touchdown on 19 targets. The Vikings are utilizing a run-heavy offensive attack, so that has limited the number of opportunities for Diggs. And when he has been given the opportunities to make plays, Cousins hasn’t always been able to hit him with accurate passes.

This week, rumors have started swirling particularly hard around Diggs. It seems that he wants out. And per Chad Graff of The Athletic, Diggs said that there was truth to the rumors.

If that is indeed the case, the Washington Redskins should have some level of interest in acquiring Diggs to serve as a major building block in their receiving corps.

Coming into the 2019 season, the Redskins’ receiving corps was considered a weakness. But so far, rookie third-round pick Terry McLaurin has looked excellent in the Washington offense and has scored a touchdown in each of the first three games he played (he missed last week’s game against the Giants with a hamstring injury. He looks like a long-term starter and Paul Richardson has been a solid complementary piece. But adding another potential No. 1 target in Diggs would really transform the offense.

Diggs and McLaurin could serve as the primary outside targets with Richardson playing the slot. But all three players are versatile to move around the formation and exploit mismatches. The team would still need to find a big-bodied receiver to go with these 6-foot-even playmakers, but that should be doable with a mid-round draft pick.

Of course, the one issue with acquiring Diggs would be the cost of getting him. The Vikings won’t give up Diggs cheap and they could choose to demand a high level of compensation for him. The Redskins shouldn’t give up their first-round pick, projected currently to be a top-five selection, under any circumstances and they don’t have a second-round pick.

Could a deal including Trent Williams and a mid-round pick get the job done? The Vikings could use some better blocking at left tackle. That said, it remains to be seen if that would be enough or if another team would be able to blow that offer out of the water with multiple early-round picks.

Also, Diggs is still an excellent young receiver, but he’s in the first year of a five-year, $72 million contract extension he signed with the Vikings. The team would have to maneuver to ensure they stay under the cap in order to get him. Trading Williams would likely help the cause there.

Still, Diggs’ talent speaks for itself so the Redskins should at least explore trading for him if he’s made available. It may not ultimately work out but if it did, the team would be pretty set at wide receiver. Then, their main goal would be beefing up their offensive line and tight ends to improve the offense around the team’s future quarterback, Dwayne Haskins.