- 8 hours ago
Is he worth kicking the tires on more than Brandon Aiyuk or some of the other options?
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00:00So this could be notable for teams that need a wide receiver on the market.
00:06Out of Boston today, former Patriots receiver Stefan Diggs has been found not guilty of assaulting his private chef in
00:14a pay dispute.
00:16Presumably, good sign for him, meaning maybe he won't be suspended.
00:20There won't be any further issues with the league.
00:22There was the allegations made by his live-in chef, who was a female who we found out through this
00:28court hearing he had a relationship with.
00:30Videos came out of her kind of dancing and having interactions with him after the alleged incident.
00:37I didn't follow it that closely, but what I was seeing and reading yesterday was everything seemed to be coming
00:42up Stefan Diggs since it had started.
00:43And it sounds like he's been found now not guilty.
00:46Coming off 85 catches for 1,000 yards.
00:48He is going to be 33 years old in November.
00:52Remember, Gaithersburg, Maryland native, Maryland Terrapin from the area, played in the slot, played outside for the Patriots last year,
00:59but had a bounce-back season.
01:01It looked like after the 24 campaign in Houston, he had had a pretty serious leg injury and just wasn't
01:08the same.
01:09Maybe we'd seen the best of him, and I'm sure we have.
01:11But for him to get back to 80-plus catches and 1,000 yards last year, I don't know if
01:15he's got another one of those in him.
01:16But if we're talking about Brandon Ayuk or Jawan Jennings or players like that, this is a four-time Pro
01:22Bowler who's been an All-Pro who's from the area and played at Maryland.
01:26This is a guy whose name should come up.
01:27I've got some interest there.
01:29Now, again, you're sort of waiting and seeing what would happen with that legal process.
01:32The legal process happens, so act accordingly.
01:34The three-year run where he was averaging 1,400 yards and 10 touchdowns, that's not coming through the door,
01:39and you wouldn't expect as such, right?
01:42So you wonder one year each of these last two spots where he's kind of gotten along, been part of
01:49the program, where in the past he's kind of worn out his welcome in a couple different places.
01:54Maybe you realize end of career, maybe you've turned a corner, maybe you matured, maybe you realized you were this
01:59close to losing it all if the verdict hadn't gone your way.
02:02Who knows if he's able to come in and be a good citizen and kind of fold in to this
02:05culture and the like.
02:06But this reminds me of Moneyball, that conversation that Billy Bean has with David Justice.
02:12I'm not paying you for the guy that you were.
02:14I'm paying you for the guy that you are.
02:16If I'm paying him to be some version of the 1,400-yard receiver that's dynamic as all hell, he's
02:21not coming through that door.
02:23There's value to me in having a guy that could probably go 70 for 800, right?
02:27As kind of a little bit outside, a little bit inside, a little bit of whatever.
02:30I'm fine with that.
02:31I'm interested.
02:32Yeah, I am interested as well.
02:34I don't think he's the best fit schematically right now.
02:38Agreed.
02:38Because I do think he's more of a slot.
02:41Last year, he lined up for 752 plays.
02:47And he lined up in the slot 390 times and out wide 355 times.
02:52So it was close to half and half.
02:55He can absolutely play on the outside.
02:57I'm not suggesting he can't.
02:58But I think he's still at his best with some of that.
03:00But he's not getting open down the field anymore.
03:02That's not his game.
03:03Definitely not.
03:03I think you're carving people up as a route runner.
03:06You're running some stuff, being cerebral and intuitive and beating zone.
03:09He's another guy that, by the way, we were talking earlier about Adam Peters drafting receivers and not having really
03:14hit a home run yet.
03:15He was a fifth-round pick.
03:16Yep.
03:16I always think of him, for some reason, as like a third or fourth rounder.
03:19He was taken outside of the top 145 in round five and has had a heck of a career.
03:24Yes, he has.
03:25Like a really good career.
03:27His last year in Minnesota was like when he took off with Cousins when he had just gotten there.
03:31If you remember, I think he caught like 14 bowls or something like that at Landover over at the artist
03:37formerly known as FedEx Field.
03:38But anyway, he ended up leaving there and really breaking out at his next stop in Buffalo.
03:44But even before Cousins got there, he was the one that caught the pass from Case Keenum, the Minnesota Miracle,
03:49that took the Vikings to the NFC Championship game.
03:52Well, his most dynamic.
03:53So he went from kind of, you know, everything's underneath.
03:56Everything's close to line of scrimmage.
03:57You look at the yards per reception right at 10.
04:00102 catches for barely over 1,000 yards.
04:03Like, you could see the story right there.
04:05That's why he hated, hated that situation.
04:08Yeah, the following year in Minnesota, almost half the catches for more yards.
04:13Six to three catches for 1,130 yards, to your point.
04:16Was that 18?
04:17Yeah, averaging almost 18 yards.
04:19That was Perko's first year.
04:20So no, that was 19.
04:20Apologies.
04:21That was 2019, averaging 18 yards of reception.
04:25I say that again.
04:2518 yards of reception when averaging 10 the year before.
04:28Yeah.
04:28What a renaissance that is.
04:29Then he goes and gets paid, plays in Buffalo, leads the league in receptions and yards the following year.
04:33But to that point, fell out of favor with Minnesota, at odds with a coach.
04:37Falls out of favor in Buffalo, at odds with them.
04:40And maybe Josh Allen.
04:41That was a weird relationship, if you remember, at the end.
04:43Yep.
04:43I never really got.
04:44But I don't know anything about Josh Allen, personally.
04:47I've never met the guy.
04:48It just seems like if you can't get along with him, who can you get along with?
04:51If you watch Hard Knocks, if you see the way this guy interacts with people, he really seems like just
04:56one of the most genuine, humbled, just like,
04:58oh, shucks, I'm trying to win you a Super Bowl, Buffalo, dudes that there is.
05:03But you're right.
05:04He has been much more on the field, I'm talking about now, in locker rooms, because he's obviously had his
05:08run-ins with the law and issues off the field.
05:11He's dating Cardi B.
05:12And there's videos of him and what's in the bag and what's that substance and whatever that weird thing was
05:16on the boat.
05:16You remember that?
05:17I do now.
05:18Yeah, I forgot about that.
05:18There's always something going on with this guy.
05:20But that said, on the field, I don't think there have been any super negative, awful reports the last two
05:26years.
05:26And maybe it's just that it takes time and it never was that way in year one in Minnesota or
05:31Buffalo or anything.
05:33So I don't know.
05:34But there's also this question.
05:36Why was Buffalo on the verge of a Super Bowl needing receivers and still do, by the way?
05:40Why were they willing to let him walk?
05:42Why did Houston not want to bring him back?
05:45It's great that someone's always willing to bring you in and give you a chance to have the renaissance like
05:50New England did last year.
05:51But nobody has employed him for two straight seasons and going on now four seasons.
05:56Yeah, that's a tell.
05:56There's no way around that.
05:57There is.
05:58That's a tell.
05:58So you wonder, again, if your needs match up with mine, if you're looking for a three-year deal, good
06:06luck to you.
06:06If you're looking for one more prove-it or one more, hey, I want a chance to win or I'm
06:12cool with whatever role I get in an offense, there's a chance your needs align with mine.
06:17If they do, I'll trust you short-term.
06:19See, Dallas and George Pickens, they're to me doing what I would do.
06:23If I have George Pickens on a multi-year deal, I am now looking at my watch.
06:26The sands of the hourglass are now ticking down to when the meltdown happens, to when the cancerous behavior happens,
06:32to when he ruins something for me.
06:33If I'm doing a short-term, you've got to be on your best behavior because this is an audition.
06:38We can make some good music together.
06:41Let's play a little game here, okay?
06:43I want to go through some of the available wide receivers.
06:46You tell me if you'd rather have Stefan Diggs or the guy that I named.
06:50Tyreek Hill at 32 coming off of an awful injury.
06:53No idea when he's going to be ready.
06:55Diggs.
06:55Diggs.
06:57Debo Samuel at 30 coming back to Washington after year one being pretty uneven, I would say.
07:06Diggs.
07:06I would also rather have Diggs.
07:08Is that one close for you at all or no?
07:11Because that's close for me, actually.
07:13Debo in a third receiver role for me is I'm more interested than him getting 90-plus catches.
07:18Yes, it's close for me.
07:20I just think last year, for a second straight season, the team, I think, had some like,
07:27hey, man, we're slowing down.
07:29What kind of shape are we in right now?
07:31Yep.
07:31We're banged up week to week.
07:33I heard some of those things around the building where it's like, how many years do you want
07:37to do that?
07:39But, yeah, I love Debo's game.
07:41I think even on Christmas Day, I was going to say early in the year he was electric.
07:45Go back and watch the Christmas Day game where he's running people over on screens.
07:48Yep.
07:48He is useful, for sure.
07:50So, yeah, it's fairly close.
07:51A Curtis Samuel or Stefan Diggs?
07:54Diggs.
07:56Jawan Jennings or Stefan Diggs?
07:58Jennings for me.
08:01I would rather have Diggs, I think, than Jawan Jennings.
08:07It's kind of interesting.
08:08Again, really close.
08:09Jawan Jennings seems like a good soldier.
08:12I don't remember hearing anything about him getting in trouble over the years or being a
08:17malcontent or anything like that.
08:19The fit for him is probably better.
08:22Outside, third down, war daddy, possession, Peter.
08:25238 snaps in the slot last year, 642 out wide for him.
08:30And it's Kyle Shanahan's offense.
08:31He was in the backfield 13 times.
08:33Right, I was going to say.
08:34Played left tackle twice, sold popcorn four times.
08:36Tight end lined up five times.
08:37Kick return a little bit.
08:38But basically, it was a three-to-one ratio outside versus inside.
08:43I just wonder.
08:45He's never been fast.
08:47And he's getting older now.
08:49Like, how much juice does he have left?
08:52And why does he have no market?
08:54Is another question I would have.
08:56Stefan Diggs, I know why.
08:57He didn't have much of a market so far.
08:59This had to sort itself out.
09:00Yeah, this was hanging over his head.
09:01You mean Jennings, why isn't there a market?
09:03Yes.
09:03That, to me, is one of the mysteries of this offseason.
09:07Now, okay, it's not the Alec Pierce market where that's the best deep threat
09:10and everybody wants that in an era where nobody's going deep right now.
09:13Okay, no problem.
09:14I get that.
09:14You overpaid.
09:15It's not what I would do, but I understand that.
09:17I don't understand why that guy has no market.
09:19So those are the main guys, by the way.
09:21I'm going to just run through a bunch more names.
09:23Stop me if there's someone you like more than Stefan Diggs.
09:26I'm just going to go rapid fire.
09:2834-year-old DeAndre Hopkins.
09:29No.
09:30Noah Brown is 30.
09:31Keenan Allen, 34.
09:33No.
09:33Jahan Dotson.
09:35Kidding, no.
09:36Kaderil Hodge.
09:37No.
09:37Josh Reynolds.
09:38No.
09:39Tim Patrick.
09:39No.
09:40Zay Jones.
09:41Hunter Renfro.
09:42I mean, it's over now.
09:43Right, that's the list.
09:44We're on to a list of guys that are like, are they going to make the team?
09:48Maybe this one's interesting.
09:49I think you'll probably hate this, but maybe Josh Reynolds, healthy,
09:53just because of the baggage Stefan Diggs brings and you wonder,
09:56is he a malcontent or whatever?
09:58But in a world where you told me, like, Crystal Ball says,
10:01Stefan Diggs, no demerits, never in the principal's office,
10:05handles his business correctly,
10:07then I'd prefer him over all the guys available right now.
10:11Just about.
10:12But still, my interest level is, like, on a 1 to 10.
10:14It's tepid.
10:15This is not an 8.
10:17This is 10 meaning you have to do it today.
10:21One meaning I would never do that.
10:23Like, I still think I'm a 5 or a 4.5, 4.75, something like that.
10:27Yeah, it's a 5 for me because I think the name gets him a bigger salary
10:31allocation than I want.
10:32Don't you think?
10:33Don't you think it's still, you know, a little exciting and a little sexy
10:37because the name Stefan Diggs and 1,000 yards last year for a Super Bowl
10:40caliber team, blah, blah, blah.
10:42You think there's still a premium with that or does this, hey,
10:45third stop in three years, come on, man,
10:48everyone kind of knows where we are now.
10:49Do you think there's a more robust market because of the name?
10:52No.
10:53Well, no.
10:53I don't think he makes anything.
10:55I mean, what did he make for the Patriots last year?
10:573 million base salary?
10:58No, 21.
11:00His AAV was 21.
11:01Well, because of the contract carried over.
11:02That's a good point.
11:03Yeah, that's a good point.
11:063 million base, 12 million signing bonus, got it to 15,
11:093.4 per game roster bonus, got it to 18.
11:13Okay, so that's where his number came from.
11:16No, I think it's like 1 in 10 and 1 in 12, something like that,
11:19which is, I wouldn't do this, but still what you hear some people
11:22suggesting Ayuk might get.
11:24Yeah.
11:25So if Ayuk's going to get that, maybe you'd have to go a little higher
11:28for Diggs.
11:28I'd rather have Diggs than Ayuk, and I think that's by a long distance.
11:32Yeah, well, that goes without saying.
11:34I'm out on Ayuk.
11:35They're not, unfortunately.
11:37Seems like they're in.
11:38The report this week is, I saw this floating around somewhere like,
11:42oh, the commanders are cooling on Brandon Ayuk.
11:44No, they're not.
11:45I don't know that they aren't, but what I'm saying is.
11:47They're not trading for him.
11:48Nobody knows anything.
11:49Like, that report isn't real.
11:50So the idea that they're definitely going to sign him is speculation.
11:53The idea that they've cooled on him is speculation.
11:57It's not like Adam Peters or anyone in that building is telling anyone
11:59what they're doing.
12:00And their opinion certainly hasn't changed in the last six weeks,
12:03eight weeks.
12:04You think they draft Antonio Williams and all of a sudden now they go,
12:06actually, we're not going to get an outside wide receiver?
12:09I don't see that.
12:10Let's go to Brian in Harper's Ferry.
12:12Wants to chime in on Stephon Diggs.
12:15What's up?
12:17Hey, man.
12:17What about Ayuk or Diggs?
12:19Who are you taking?
12:21That's what we were just talking about.
12:22Diggs is my answer.
12:25Again, put aside the insane behavior of Brandon Ayuk, right?
12:31The last time he played was pretty much two years ago,
12:34and the allegation is they didn't really do his rehab.
12:37So you're talking about a knee that wasn't just an ACL,
12:40it wasn't just a PCL or an MCL, all the L's.
12:42Everything was catastrophic for a knee injury.
12:44He hasn't played in two years,
12:45and I'm just supposed to think that he's going to be himself.
12:47Just on that alone, I'm passing.
12:50Then you add in this ludicrous behavior.
12:53No from it.
12:54It's a non-starter.
12:55Yeah, my interest in Diggs, while limited, far exceeds that in Ayuk,
13:00because, again, I'm out on Ayuk.
13:03I have zero interest.
13:05That is a one out of ten on the scale.
13:07So we could play the game again where we go Ayuk or Tyreek Hill or Ayuk is pretty much even
13:12because they're both zero.
13:13I think they're both, in Hill's case, he's been in trouble a ton of times off the field.
13:18Amy's coming off serious injuries.
13:19Who am I talking about, by the way?
13:21Yeah, let's play that game.
13:22Which of the two?
13:22But Debo or Ayuk?
13:24Debo.
13:25Samuel or Ayuk?
13:26Samuel.
13:27Jennings or Ayuk?
13:28Jennings.
13:28Jennings.
13:29Like, is it a person?
13:30Have they played in the NFL?
13:32I'll do Noah Brown again before Brandon Ayuk.
13:33Yeah, I'm not doing Brandon Ayuk.
13:36But they are, so buckle up.
13:38Usman in New York, listening on the Odyssey app.
13:40What's going on, buddy?
13:41How are you?
13:43What's going on, guys?
13:44Hey, quick question.
13:45So definitely, definitely digs over Ayuk for the fact that Ayuk hasn't played in two years
13:51and he's a head case.
13:54But I'm a little higher on Tyreek Hill, I think.
13:57I'm just curious, you know, obviously, you know, not a great guy.
14:01But I think he has an element of, you know, he's probably not going to be as fast as he
14:06was
14:06and as great as he was prior to this horrific injury.
14:09But if you're not bringing an element of stretching the field and a little bit of a game planning
14:13threat for the opposing defensive coordinator that none of the other options necessarily
14:17have, or at least a little bit more than digs.
14:20And if we're willing to bring in Ayuk anyway, who's kind of a crazy guy, you know, I would
14:24say that Tyreek Hill is kind of in the same category.
14:27So, I don't know.
14:28I just wanted to get your thoughts on that.
14:29So, I can't answer that because I don't know what kind of shape, and I don't mean football
14:36shape, I mean health, availability, Tyreek Hill is in.
14:38Like, is he going to be ready in September?
14:40Is he going to be ready in November?
14:41Like, I haven't heard anything.
14:43Well, what scares me the most isn't this past year, plus the injury.
14:47It's the year before he fell off a cliff, too.
14:49And it went from Tyreek Hill doing Tyreek Hill stuff, 1,800 yards, 13 touchdowns, the best
14:55weapon in the sport, the terrifier of defenses, the, you know, the keeper upper of defensive
15:00coordinators to pedestrian guy.
15:03Now, I understand some of it's quarterback around him, et cetera.
15:06But that dude was so dominant, and then he fell off a cliff, then he had a bad season
15:11while getting hurt in week five.
15:12No, thank you.
15:14He missed all of the rest of the season, too, by the way.
15:18Missed, whatever it was, 13 games?
15:19Yeah, from week five on.
15:21And that was, if you remember, do you remember what that injury looked like?
15:23Yes.
15:24I can't get it out of my head.
15:24It was gruesome.
15:25That was a disgusting.
15:27And not all injuries, you know, the way it looks visually equals how serious it is.
15:32But, like, that was a dislocation where his leg was in the wrong direction.
15:35It was, like, squeamish kind of moment on television where they're like, we're not going
15:39to show you this replay.
15:40But it was a major injury.
15:42So he dislocated his knee, tore his ACL, and tore the ligaments in his knee.
15:48It was, like, CL, CL, PL, DL, RL, AL, National League, American League, but then also dislocated
15:55knee.
15:55Combine that with, as you said, all field stuff.
15:57I mean, it's a...
15:58And he's 32, by the way.
15:59Like, Brandon Ayuk, for all the baggage and all the shade I'm throwing about, like, not
16:06really for me, not doing this, no thank you, Brandon Ayuk's 28 years old and does not turn
16:1129 until after this season.
16:14Like, he'll be 28 all football year.
16:17Tyreek Hill turns 33 before the end of this NFL season.
16:21There's a five-year difference between those guys.
16:23That is an important point, distinction.
16:25I mean, this may sound flippant and dismissive, and I'm not running a Boy Scout troop here.
16:30So if you've got some baggage, if the league deems you eligible, I'm more fine than most
16:35people signing that player.
16:37The part that I care about is, are you going to do something to then make yourself ineligible?
16:42I don't trust Tyreek Hill not to do something to make himself ineligible.
16:45Same way with Brandon Ayuk, where somebody looks at you funny in the cafeteria, and next
16:48thing you know, you're not returning text messages for six months.
16:53That's kind of my thesis there.
16:55So again, it used to be I had this high moral ground, and now I'll sell my soul for an
16:59extra
16:5950 yards per game, as long as I can count on you to be there.
17:02If I can't count on you to be there, now you're off my board.
17:05I want to get to the veterans who are hoping to get another crack with the commanders.
17:10Among them, Bobby Wagner, Austin Eckler, Zach Ertz, Von Miller, any of those guys interesting
17:17to still bring back the way the roster is being formed?
17:20They didn't close the door on any of those players yet.
17:22Grant and Daniel.
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