There's been a lot of talk about Stefon Diggs lately. The conversations around his departure from the Minnesota Vikings and Buffalo Bills have dominated the new cycle. A lot of people have speculated, fairly or not, about what Diggs is going to bring to the Texans this season.
If he has anything left to bring, that is. Conversations about his potential decline have been had, and while most of us think he'll still have a good season, the concerns aren't unfounded. He's about to be 31, in a league that doesn't abide too well for aging players. His numbers took a bit of a dip in 2023, though he has something to say about that.
Speaking to GQ Sports, Diggs claims that there were changes to how the team drew up their offensive schemes in the back half of the season last year.
""You can't roll out of bed and get 800 yards in the first eight games. Your best receiver's doing that. You tell me about the last 10. What changed? Were there changes going on? I just pay attention to what really happened and not what people try to act like happened. Like, for the last 10 games, I forgot how to f--king play football?""
He may have a point. His stats for the first half of the season were pretty good, and clearly, something did change. Yet, was it a change that his former quarterback Josh Allen, or his former head coach Sean McDermott implemented because they were phasing Diggs out? Or did they make changes to compensate for something they saw in Diggs' game that they didn't like?
Regardless, the negative attention has Diggs eying the 2024 season. With new quarterback C.J. Stroud and fellow standout wide receivers Nico Collins and Tank Dell, Diggs is expected to have a lot of opportunities this season. Yes, the ball will be spread around more often this season than last, but that will also mean more opportunities for one-on-one coverage.
What Diggs will lack in targets, he'll make up for in better matchups. It's something Diggs is looking forward to this season. He believes he'll be able to prove the naysayers wrong.
"“I love the noise. Push me in the corner, I’m gonna show you my best s---. I’m a person that enjoys being doubted. I enjoy proving people wrong, but also, I enjoy doing it for myself. Everything I say I am, I am. I’m standing true to it. And every time I prove myself right, everybody disappears. I like when they get quiet.”"
There's certainly some truth to all that. The noise that Diggs has been hearing this offseason has been quite persistent. A lot of that will likely come to an end when the season starts and Diggs starts showing up in big moments and big games. Yet, on the off chance that Diggs doesn't burst out of the gate ripping defenses to shreds, and is either bad, or worse, just ho-hum, then that noise won't end. No, that noise will get louder.
How Diggs responds to any difficulties and adversity will be telling. He may excel, he may fall back into old patterns or we may see something entirely different. We're not sure what's going to be coming down the pipe, but we do know it'll be interesting.