Stefon Diggs grew up admiring a former Vikings receiver

The current Minnesota Vikings star wide receiver recently revealed that Percy Harvin was his favorite player when he was playing high school football.

Looking back, it’s pretty crazy that Stefon Diggs was unable to get on the field for the Minnesota Vikings until the team’s fourth game of his rookie season in 2015. But even without appearing in the Vikings’ first three matchups that year, he still ended up leading the team in catches and receiving yards.

Now heading into his fifth season in Minnesota, Diggs has established himself as one of the best wide receivers in the NFL. He and fellow wide receiver Adam Thielen make up arguably the top pass-catching duo the Vikings have had since Cris Carter and Randy Moss wore the purple and gold together.

Prior to Diggs being drafted by the Vikings, he was one of the top high school football players in the entire country. Before he eventually chose to play for Maryland, he was ranked as the second-best wide receiver in the entire 2012 recruiting class.

While he was growing up, Diggs actually modeled his game after a pass-catcher who used to suit up for Minnesota.

During an interview with NFL Network on Wednesday, he revealed that former Vikings receiver Percy Harvin was a player that he really admired when he was playing high school football.

"“My favorite player was Percy Harvin. Coming out of high school, I wanted to go to Florida and do that whole thing and then it came full circle when I (landed) with the Vikings. (Percy) was a dog. He was fast, he could catch, and he made a lot of plays.”"

It’s pretty cool to find out that Diggs grew up liking a player who used to be a member of the Vikings. It’s sort of like he was destined to be in Minnesota.

Maybe not, but since he brought it up, the way Diggs plays out on the field is very reminiscent of what Harvin used to do in a Vikings uniform.

Even though he wasn’t the biggest guy out on the field, Harvin never seemed to shy away from contact. He was also very quick and his juking ability made a bunch of defenders look downright silly.

Like Harvin, Diggs has the shiftiness to make people miss and he’s also not afraid to put his head down to get a few extra yards even though he’s smaller than most of the guys trying to tackle him.

Unfortunately, Harvin’s time with the Vikings only lasted for four seasons. But two years after he was gone, Minnesota drafted Diggs and it’s pretty safe to say the team is very happy with what he’s been able to do during his tenure.