(Image via clutchpoints.com)
Volunteer Writer: Aidan Danforth
Email: adanforth@umassd.edu
NFL free agency is a crazy time of year as players move to new teams and teams prepare for the upcoming draft. Some teams expect to take down the NFL’s Goliath in the Kansas City Chiefs, while others are preparing for a year of misery and mediocrity.
One of these trades happened on April 3rd when Buffalo Bills disgruntled star, wide receiver Stefon Diggs, was traded to the Houston Texans for a 2025 second-round pick. Diggs has spent the last four seasons with the Bills but has moved to Texas as their newest weapon in an arsenal of threats.
How does this blockbuster affect the Texans’ future? What does this mean for the Bills’ future?
Houston: Go Big Or Go Home
The Texans were one of the biggest surprises of the 2023 season. After going 3-13-1 in 2022, they quickly turned heads and went 10-7 while winning a playoff game. This turnaround was all thanks to head coach Demeco Ryans and a franchise quarterback in 2023, OROY CJ Stroud.
After a successful season, Houston wants more. In the short time of the 2024 offseason, Houston has already made big moves by acquiring star pass rusher Danielle Hunter and trading for running back Joe Mixon.
But those players can only do so much damage, and the Texans sought out more. Enter Stefon Diggs.
Playmakers like Stefon Diggs don’t grow on trees. With his ability to create separation and route run, he gives the Texans arguably the best wide receiver trio in the NFL. The trio includes Nico Collins, Stroud’s number-one target, Tank Dell, who played well before his injury, and Diggs.
Stroud was already playing at an MVP level with just Nico Collins and an average running game. Now, Stroud has three reliable receivers and a solid rushing game that will keep him in the MVP conversation.
This trade won’t only help Stroud, Diggs, and the other off-season additions that have made the Texans a dark horse Super Bowl contender.
The top contenders in the AFC include the Chiefs, Ravens, and Bengals, but the Texans might be able to match up against those teams. What these teams have in common is an elite QB, good coaching, and plenty of young and veteran talent.
The Chiefs and Ravens are on the Texans 2024 schedule. It may be a matter of time before we find out if the AFC has a new threat fighting for the AFC title.
Buffalo Bills: Started From The Bottom Now We’re…Still Here
The Bills’ motto is simple: Close, but never close enough.
The Buffalo Bills had another underwhelming season. They went 11-6 and fell short against the Chiefs in the playoffs. The Bills have been a top contender in the AFC for the past few years but have failed to make the Super Bowl in their window of competition, repeatedly falling to the mighty Chiefs and Bengals.
Their offseason has been rough. Due to tricky cap constraints, they had to cut ties with several franchise players, including Jordan Poyer, Micah Hyde, and Tre’Davious White.
Before losing Diggs, the Bills wide receiver room was thin as they moved on from number two receiver Gabriel Davis, who departed for the Jacksonville Jaguars. With Diggs gone, the Bills receiving room is almost nonexistent, and they will look to the very deep draft to replace their needs.
Due to a bad offseason and other AFC teams getting better, 2023 might have been the Bills’s last chance at competing for the AFC title, as players such as James Cook, Von Miller, and rookie Dalton Kincaid did not live up to the expected preseason hype.
Success for an NFL team starts with the quarterback, and Josh Allen is a major reason why the Bills have been so good the past four seasons, as his rushing ability makes him one of the hardest players to take down.
People tend to forget what Allen was like before Diggs. Allen’s first two seasons in the league were underwhelming. He threw 30 touchdowns, 21 interceptions, and completed 56.3 percent of his passes.
His past four seasons have been much better after the Bills traded for Diggs as Allen has become one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL.
With Diggs’ loss, does this mean Josh Allen might take a step back? To put it simply, no. Diggs was a shell of himself, and with games where Stefon was target seven times or less, the Bills managed to go 6-1.
Overall Trade Grades
The full trade details show the Texans getting Diggs, a 2024 6th-round pick, and a 205 5th-round pick. The Bills got a 2025 2nd-round pick.
The Texans get an A for this trade, as it will help them become one of the top contenders in the AFC and help CJ Stroud become an MVP candidate. The only negative is that Diggs is 30, so his production might decrease.
Buffalo gets a C because they did get a high draft pick they can spend on a decent player. But losing a reliable veteran and a top option for Allen is tough to replace.
The departed veterans might also mean the closing of Buffalo’s Super Bowl Window. But “When one window closes, another opens” which could be the case for the Houston Texans.