
Ever since Antonio Brown went AWOL and demanded his release after an offseason of shenanigans that included frostbitten feet, multiple helmet grievances, an altercation with general manager Mike Mayock and fines that voided his guaranteed money, the Raiders have been searching for answers on offense.
Tyrell Williams spent the entire offseason preparing to be Jon Gruden's No. 2 receiver, but was thrust into the top role once Brown was ejected first to New England and then to the unemployment line.
The Raiders have slogged their way to a 2-2 start, trying to figure out a way to cope with losing a dynamic talent like Brown so close to the start of the season.
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A way to fill Brown's role and move Williams back down to the No. 2 role might have just emerged.
Enter: Stefon Diggs.
You might have heard the whispers of Diggs potentially being traded in recent days. The Vikings star missed practice Wednesday due to a cold, but told reporters Thursday he is frustrated with his role in Minnesota's new run-heavy attack. Since dismissing offensive coordinator John DeFilippo last season, the Vikings have gone from a pass-happy assault that features Diggs and Adam Thielen, to an old-school unit that just wants to hope quarterback Kirk Cousins doesn't lose them football games.
While Diggs said he hasn't asked for a trade, he did admit there is "some truth to all rumors."
NFL
The Vikings reportedly don't plan to trade the 25-year-old pass-catcher, but if there's a chance, the Raiders should see what it would take to pry Diggs from Minnesota.
Fresh off a 1,000-yard season in 2018, Diggs is an elite route-runner with blazing speed. When put in an offensive scheme built around the air game, Diggs is one of the best vertical threats in the NFL.
In the past two seasons, Diggs had success rates of 78.7 and 77.2 percent against man coverage. Those numbers rank in the 98th and 96th percentile, respectively. What about zone? Yeah, he's good there, too, tallying an 83.5 percent success rate in 2017 and 84.1 last season. Those numbers are good for the 85th and 88th percentile. Press coverage? Piece of cake. Diggs had a 75.7 percent success rate against press coverage two years ago (81st percentile), and 77.1 percent last season, which put him in the 86th percentile.
Those numbers are impressive and show he would help an Oakland offense that wants to push the ball down the field, but the Raiders currently lack the necessary vertical weapons to do just that.
Brown was supposed to be that guy, but he couldn't hold it together.
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Diggs, by all accounts, is a team-first guy. He's a rare weapon who is entering his NFL prime.
Should the Vikings decide to trade Diggs, he'd be worth giving up a first-round draft pick to acquire. He checks all the boxes and can get the Raiders offense back to where it was supposed to be with Brown in the fold.