1. Brings the energy and a new mentality
Stefon Diggs has brought so much to this Bills offense in the short time he's been here. Through nine weeks, Diggs is leading the NFL in receptions with 63 and receiving yards with 813. But this goes beyond stats, he brings a humble and hungry mentality to this team that elevates the play of everyone around him. Head coach Sean McDermott shared a little bit about what Diggs has brought to this Bills team.
"Well overall, I think he's brought experience to our receiving corps," McDermott explained. "We've had experience before to some extent, but he's brought legitimacy to that group, even more than we were before. He's brought energy and a dog mentality to our offense and to our football team, quite frankly. I think the yards everyone can pull it up, look on a computer and find the numbers, but I believe it goes beyond that. There's a lot of intangibles in there as well that we as a team have benefited from."
2. Builds bonds with his teammates
Even with the experience that Stefon Diggs had, he still had to learn a new playbook and build chemistry with Josh Allen and his new teammates. With what was an unprecedented 2020 offseason, there weren't as many opportunities for Diggs to do that in person, so those relationships all had to be made over Zoom. During these talks, the players got to know one another more personally and a mutual respect was earned. Diggs shed some light on what the offseason was like and how he has embraced this team.
"Ever since the Zoom meetings, we had those Zoom calls in the offseason, we've been growing and getting to know guys throughout those calls," Diggs said. "We had a certain amount of talks, going into training camp where we learned a lot about each other, just in the receiver room to be specific. The guys would talk a little bit about their story, where they came from, their background, and you learn about a guy personally. So that's where you gain the most respect for them, outside of football. You see a guy out there put a lot of time and effort into their craft and that just builds on a foundation of a bond and a brotherhood."
3. Sets a good example with a team-first mindset
That bond and respect for one another has brought great chemistry and production on the football field for the entire Bills team. The offense has progressed with Josh Allen in his third year in addition to more key pieces being added around him. With Diggs being one of those new pieces, it didn't take long for him and Allen to develop a great friendship. Allen explained some of the intangibles that Diggs adds to this Bills offense.
"The things that don't show on the stat sheet, like the energy that he brings, and the knowledge that he has for the game," Allen said. "How he rallies and bonds with the guys in the locker room and the stuff that shows up off the stat sheet and I think that's what is really cool about him. He is a very team-first guy, contrary to popular belief, all he says to me is just keep making the right decisions and he's not trying to get me to force him the ball. That said, he does have the most targets in the league and he's got the most receptions and yards now. But he's never once given me any reason to believe he's nothing but a team guy. He's team first, he loves ball, he's very competitive, and we get along extremely well. He's a great fit in our receiving group, in our locker room for that matter and we're lucky to have him."
4. Making a connection with the quarterback
Diggs and Allen admire each other and push one another to be the best players they can be.
Diggs has seen the lighter side of Allen throughout the season but now has even more respect for him. This is because of how professionally Allen handled last Sunday's situation – playing in a game the day after his grandmother unexpectedly passed away. Diggs touched on his relationship with Allen and what he means to him as a teammate and as a brother.
"Everybody knows Josh to be a jokester," Diggs stated. "He's definitely jokester, so spending that time with him on the field whether we're playing around or running routes or whatever is intentional. I do everything like I mean it, so spending time with him and getting to know him, even as to recent events, I just have more love and more respect for him. He's become more of a brother than anything at this point and he never made an excuse, not one time. He didn't use that we didn't have an offseason or that we didn't have much time, he used the time that was allowed, and he made it work."
