Ravens admit they missed out on Bills’ Stefon Diggs like many
Wide receiver Stefon Diggs is likely a guy that fits in well with the Bills and the Buffalo area because he’s often been overlooked in his career. An underdog in his own right.
Diggs has flashed talents for several years in the NFL, but while with the Minnesota Vikings he never even made a Pro Bowl… some how. Really it’s been a Day 1 thing for him.
Diggs wasn’t a highly-touted prospect out of Maryland and wasn’t picked until the fifth-round of the 2015 NFL Draft. Every NFL team, including the Vikings and Bills, passed on him at least once. We can lump Buffalo’s upcoming opponent, the Baltimore Ravens (11-5) in there too.
And just this week, the Ravens admitted just that. Baltimore head coach John Harbaugh praised Diggs’ skills and said yup, they failed to take a guy that came right out of Baltimore’s own backyard.
“Boy, he’s done great. A long time ago … I remember him well, because he was here. We knew a lot about him and studied him. We just missed on him, too,” Harbaugh said. “Obviously, we could’ve drafted him up until that point, and we didn’t. I don’t remember the exact details of it, but unfortunately, that’s one that got away. But he’s a great player, great guy, local guy. [I have] all the respect in the world for him as a player. He’s definitely a factor.”
In Saturday’s AFC Divisional round meeting, Diggs will be facing Harbaugh and Baltimore for the first time in his career, Still, Diggs isn’t going to be using the Ravens passing on him as a motivation, he said via video conference. Diggs hinted that perhaps having played against the Washington Football Team, also located in Maryland, quells that. The overlying factor thought is just his desire to win.
“It’s the same thing as playing the Redskins,” Diggs said. “It’s not something that I’m overly excited for just cause it’s a back home team, it’s more so that I’m just trying to win like every other game.”
As mentioned, Diggs has an underdog story of his own, but he’s realistically not there anymore. Diggs led the NFL in catches (127) and receiving yards (1,535) this season and everyone knows him well now… including the Ravens.
Cornerback Jimmy Smith touted Diggs’ skills this week, but also lumped the Bills (13-3) entire receiver room in there as well.
“They have a lot of skill, a lot of speed. You didn’t mention John Brown, but he’s out there as well, and Gabriel (Davis) – No. 13, they have. All their guys are really good, they get active, and Josh Allen has taken a major step this year as far as what I’ve seen in his game,” Smith said. “What Diggs is capable of doing, and also (Cole) Beasley is good at moving the chains and running underneath routes. It’s going to be a tough challenge for us.”J
