8 best performances by a Vikings WR in their first 5 seasons with the team
By Tim Arcand
The Minnesota Vikings are parting ways with Stefon Diggs after five seasons. How do his numbers stack up against the best in franchise history after their first five seasons?
The day before St. Patrick’s Day, the Minnesota Vikings traded wide receiver Stefon Diggs to the Buffalo Bills in a deal that was just too good for general manager Rick Spielman to pass up. Along with Diggs, the Vikings sent their 2020 seventh-round draft pick to Buffalo and received the Bills’ first, fifth and sixth-round selections in 2020 and a fourth-round pick in 2021.
Diggs, who led Minnesota in receptions, receiving yards, and touchdowns last season, gave everyone a little bit of a heads up on Twitter a couple of hours before the deal was announced, that some things were about to change.
Minnesota got perhaps the best deal this side of the Herschel Walker trade with the Dallas Cowboys in 1989—well, at least as far as Vikings fans are concerned. Still, the question remains, did Minnesota give up a receiver that many consider the best this franchise has had since Randy Moss?
In only five seasons, Diggs’ numbers have him ranking seventh all-time in Vikings history in receptions, receiving yards, and touchdowns. It is easy to project him as one of the best all-time if his career continued with Minnesota. In fact, I looked at this exact topic just last year. Now, it is entirely academic and pointless.
Still, with nothing better to do than speculate on the draft and who the Vikings will release next, here’s my ranking of the team’s wide receivers following their first five years in the Twin Cities.
The criteria used includes games, receptions, yards, and touchdowns in the regular season and playoffs. I also included the number of quarterbacks they played with and gave extra weight for each year they led the team in receptions, receiving yards, and touchdowns.
For example, over five seasons the maximum score would be 15. The highest score in this category was a 10, shared by Cris Carter and Anthony Carter.
So here are the top eight wide receivers in Vikings franchise history based only on their first five seasons with the team.