Dion Dawkins hinted at a Stefon Diggs reunion with the Buffalo Bills — but should the Bills even want Diggs back on their team?
Of course, I could write a countless number of paragraphs on Diggs’ locker room presence in Buffalo, the perception of his attitude, the problems it caused, the issues he had with the coaching staff etc., and those words would mostly be speculation on my part.
And with someone of Diggs magnitude, those off-field/locker room elements certainly matter to a potential decision
like this one, especially for the Bills.
The crux of this article is to decide, from an on-field perspective, whether or not the Bills should want Diggs back in their receiver room.
In his last two regular seasons — in Houston and New England — Diggs had 132 catches for 1,509 receiving yards and eight receiving scores in 25 games. He tore his ACL eight games into his 2024 campaign with the Texans.
Those figures equate to 5.28 catches and 60.36 receiving yards per game, which are not drastically lower than what he averaged in his final season with the Bills in 2023 — 6.3 catches and 69.3 receiving yards per contest.
From an efficiency perspective, in those two regular seasons since being traded by the Bills to the Texans, Diggs has averaged a rather hefty 2.19 yards per route run. For perspective, these are the YPRR numbers for Diggs during his time in Buffalo, by season:
2020: 2.51
2021: 1.91
2022: 2.49
2023: 1.99
The numbers indicate what I believe too — Diggs can still play. There’s plenty left in the tank. Is he still a major vertical threat? No, probably not. The past two seasons his average depth of target dipped below 10 yards each year. They marked the first time his aDOT was under 10 since 2018 when he caught 102 passes in the regular season with the Vikings.
He’s still a high-caliber separator underneath and hasn’t lost the strength in his hands in contested-catch scenarios. In fact, Diggs’ massive 78.6% CTC win rate in 2025’s regular season with the Patriots was the second-highest in his NFL career, behind only the 80% rate all the way back in 2016.
All formerly elite-level receivers age differently. There aren’t age or usage cliffs like with running backs.
Diggs will turn 33 in November. Amari Cooper retired after his Age 30 season — the second half of which was spent with the Bills. Davante Adams led the NFL in touchdowns last year on the Rams and turned 33 in December. So you just never know on the age front.
Before the Bills could sign Diggs, a two-way understanding about his role would have to be agreed upon. Diggs would have to accept that he won’t be funneled 150-plus regular-season targets in this Bills offense. He saw 150-plus targets in all four seasons he spent in Buffalo.
For as much as it feels like he’d be willing to accept that, he did lead the Patriots in targets with 102 last year and went over 1,000 yards. But, yes, the Bills pass-game plans would have to be laid out clearly to Diggs, and the veteran receiver would need to recognize he won’t be the team’s bonafide No.1 anymore.
If this transaction does happen — it’d likely lead to a corresponding release or trade of a currently rostered receiver. I can’t imagine the Bills head into training camp with DJ Moore, Khalil Shakir, Josh Palmer, Keon Coleman, Skyler Bell, and Stefon Diggs as their top six receivers… although having too many capable wideouts would not be the worst problem for the Bills to have.
Right now, a Bills-Diggs reunion is just a simmering rumor.
Yet given I believe Diggs could serve as a dynamic underneath weapon with a strong rapport with Josh Allen — and provide on-field mentorship to Bell — it’s a rumor I’m definitely going to be closely monitoring.
