Welcome back, Stefon Diggs. He’s reportedly signing with the Commanders, putting himself back in play as a depth receiver.
Per reports, it’s a one-year deal worth $12 million. The price tag suggests he’ll be Washington’s 2nd-leading pass catcher. Brandon Aiyuk has been chirping about wanting to join the Commanders, but he remains locked away by the 49ers.
Washington has Terry McLaurin but not much else in terms of wide receivers. They picked Antonio Williams out of Clemson in the third round, and their best holdovers are Dyami Brown, Treylon Burks, Van Jefferson, Jaylin Lane and Luke McCaffrey. (McCaffrey was also a third-round pick but hasn’t done much in his first two seasons).
At 32 (33 in November) Diggs is at the tail end of his career, but I think it’s safe to ink him in as an opening day starter.
Working in his favor, the Commanders have modest pass-catching talent at the other positions. Definitely at running back, where they caught a league-low 42 passes last year. They signed tight end Chig Okonkwo to a contract averaging $9 million, but he never ascended in Tennessee, finishing with 52-56 catches in each of his last three seasons.
Diggs has lost some speed, but he’s got veteran smarts and an alpha personality. He was able to ascend to the top of the wide receiver room in New England last year, catching 85 passes. The previous season, Diggs caught 47 passes in eight games for the Texans (on pace for about 100 catches before he got hurt).
Most impressively, Diggs caught 85 of the 102 passes thrown his way last year – 83 percent. Among players with at least 100 targets, that’s the 2nd-highest figure in league history. That was with emerging Drake Maye, but the Commanders also have a capable young QB -- Jayden Daniels.
Only 28 times in league history has a wide receiver with at least 100 targets caught at least 75 percent of what’s been thrown his way. Diggs has authored three of those seasons (with three different teams).
| CATCHING 75 PERCENT OF TARGETS | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Player | Tgt | Rec | Yds | Avg | TD | Pct |
| 2018 | Michael Thomas, N.O. | 147 | 125 | 1,405 | 11.2 | 9 | 85.0 |
| 2025 | Stefon Diggs, N.E. | 102 | 85 | 1,013 | 11.9 | 4 | 83.3 |
| 2024 | Amon-Ra St. Brown, Det. | 141 | 115 | 1,263 | 11.0 | 12 | 81.6 |
| 2019 | Michael Thomas, N.O. | 185 | 149 | 1,725 | 11.6 | 9 | 80.5 |
| 2021 | Hunter Renfrow, L.V. | 128 | 103 | 1,038 | 10.1 | 9 | 80.5 |
| 2025 | Puka Nacua, LAR | 166 | 129 | 1,715 | 13.3 | 10 | 77.7 |
| 2023 | Rashee Rice, K.C. | 102 | 79 | 938 | 11.9 | 7 | 77.5 |
| 2007 | Wes Welker, N.E. | 145 | 112 | 1,175 | 10.5 | 8 | 77.2 |
| 2022 | JuJu Smith-Schuster, K.C. | 101 | 78 | 933 | 12.0 | 3 | 77.2 |
| 2020 | Davante Adams, G.B. | 149 | 115 | 1,374 | 12.0 | 18 | 77.2 |
| 2021 | Chris Godwin, T.B. | 127 | 98 | 1,103 | 11.3 | 5 | 77.2 |
| 2012 | Randall Cobb, G.B. | 104 | 80 | 954 | 11.9 | 8 | 76.9 |
| 2017 | Golden Tate, Det. | 120 | 92 | 1,003 | 10.9 | 5 | 76.7 |
| 2020 | Cole Beasley, Buff. | 107 | 82 | 967 | 11.8 | 4 | 76.6 |
| 2020 | • Stefon Diggs, Buff. | 166 | 127 | 1,535 | 12.1 | 8 | 76.5 |
| 2016 | Michael Thomas, N.O. | 121 | 92 | 1,137 | 12.4 | 9 | 76.0 |
| 2024 | Khalil Shakir, Buff. | 100 | 76 | 821 | 10.8 | 4 | 76.0 |
| 2009 | Wes Welker, N.E. | 162 | 123 | 1,348 | 11.0 | 4 | 75.9 |
| 2021 | Cooper Kupp, LAR | 191 | 145 | 1,947 | 13.4 | 16 | 75.9 |
| 2020 | JuJu Smith-Schuster, Pitt. | 128 | 97 | 831 | 8.6 | 9 | 75.8 |
| 2020 | Tyler Lockett, Sea. | 132 | 100 | 1,054 | 10.5 | 10 | 75.8 |
| 2015 | Doug Baldwin, Sea. | 103 | 78 | 1,069 | 13.7 | 14 | 75.7 |
| 2021 | Amon-Ra St. Brown, Det. | 119 | 90 | 912 | 10.1 | 5 | 75.6 |
| 2016 | Doug Baldwin, Sea. | 125 | 94 | 1,128 | 12.0 | 7 | 75.2 |
| 2023 | Adam Thielen, Car. | 137 | 103 | 1,014 | 9.8 | 4 | 75.2 |
| 2015 | Larry Fitzgerald, Ari. | 145 | 109 | 1,215 | 11.2 | 9 | 75.2 |
| 2014 | Jarvis Landry, Mia. | 112 | 84 | 758 | 9.0 | 5 | 75.0 |
| 2016 | • Stefon Diggs, Min. | 112 | 84 | 903 | 10.8 | 3 | 75.0 |
I’m not saying Diggs will be catching 100 balls or 75 percent of what’s thrown his way. And he’s one of those guys where you always worry about him going sideways off the field – complaining about his role or showing up in the legal system or on Twitter. But I imagine he’ll be catching 70-80 possession balls, giving him value in PPR formats.
—Ian Allan
