Vikings need to extend Stefon Diggs this year, no matter what

The Minnesota Vikings have already given extensions to two of their pending 2019 free-agents this offseason and their young receiver deserves one as well.

Stefon Diggs is more than just the guy from the Minneapolis Miracle for the Minnesota Vikings. For the past three seasons, Diggs has been a tremendously important part of the Vikings’ offense.

Since 2015, he has more catches, receiving yards, and touchdowns than any other Minnesota wide receiver. Diggs is also one of only three wide receivers to ever be drafted by the Vikings and accumulate at least 180 catches in his first 40 games with the team (the other two are Randy Moss and Percy Harvin).

When he’s at his best on the field, it usually amounts to good for Minnesota as well. The Vikings are 10-2 in games where Diggs catches at least one touchdown and 16-12 in matchups where he’s held scoreless.

With all of this being said, it seems like a no-brainer for Minnesota to sign the the young receiver to an extension this offseason, right? Unfortunately, it’s not that simple.

A few months ago, wide receiver Jarvis Landry signed a big, five-year extension with the Cleveland Browns worth $75.5 million (including $34 million fully guaranteed).

Minnesota Vikings

When looking at the per game averages from their first three seasons in the NFL, Diggs and Landry put up very similar numbers. So one would imagine that the Vikings receiver will be looking for an extension that is comparable to what Landry just got from the Browns.

Is Minnesota interested in giving Diggs this kind of money? Well, they should be.

The Vikings’ lack of recent success with wide receivers alone should be enough to convince them to extend Diggs this year. Minnesota has had 22 different receivers catch a pass for them since 2010 and Diggs is one of only three to finish a season with at least 900 receiving yards.

For whatever reason, the Vikings just have not been good at finding top-notch receivers over the past decade. But Minnesota currently has one in Diggs in the palm of their hand and letting him hit the free-agent market in 2019 could end up being a decision that alters the fate of the franchise in a terrible way.

Next: Who should the Vikings extend next?

Whether he is the next to get an extension from them or not, the Vikings need to make sure Diggs eventually has his current contract extended before it runs out at the end of the 2018 season. If not, Minnesota will likely be kicking themselves for screwing up a decision that seems so easy to make.