Getty Images Stefon DIggs breaking off of a tackle
Typically, when an injured NFL player says they plan to play midway through the week, you have to take it with a grain of salt. These guys are very overly-confident, and often willing to take an enormous risk regardless of how severe the injury is. With NFL players being so competitive, it pains them to sit out on Sunday’s due to injuries.
For Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Stefon Diggs, he has had a couple of setbacks this year. And as a matter of fact, the veteran wide receiver has stated before that he would play while injured heading into a game. And the Vikings decided that he could not return like he said that week. For Week 13’s matchup against the New England Patriots, Diggs may be right though.
Right now, Diggs is dealing with a knee injury that has kept him sidelined this week. While Diggs told the media that he would play, as expected – it looks like the Vikings are wisely going to listen to him this time around. According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the Vikings have every intention of playing Diggs for Week 13, barring a significant setback of course.
Should You Tread Lightly with Diggs This Week?
Stefon Diggs may not be the number one wideout in Minnesota, but he’s still a valuable target for Kirk Cousins. With 79 receptions for 790 yards and six touchdowns, Diggs holds some incredible value for a WR2 on your fantasy squads. In other words, nobody should be very hesitant to utilize Diggs this week as long as he is on the field playing.
Just last week, the Vikings wideout caught eight of his 11 targets for over 70 yards and a score. For Diggs’ previous four games, he has been targeted over ten times, in all four matchups. During that four-game stretch, Diggs has also found the end zone three out of four times.
Just because Adam Thielen is the talk of the team for this season, doesn’t mean Diggs is just some scrub this year. The Vikings are indeed fortunate for having all of this production from their wideouts, and fantasy owners should be quite happy as well.
With Diggs playing this week, it should be a no-brainer to throw him in your lineups. With the New England Patriots defense having a mediocre secondary, the Vikings shouldn’t have much a problem moving the ball on Sunday. You can expect to see a ton of targets heading Diggs’ way once again this week.
Update: Diggs Had Complications Overnight
Vikings’ WR Stefon Diggs’ knee swelled overnight and he now needs to test it pregame to determine whether he can play today against the New England Patriots, per league source. Diggs back to being questionable today.
ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter reported a few hours before game time that Diggs is now questionable to go on Sunday. Overnight, Diggs experienced some unexpected swelling in the knee, and now he has to make it through pregame warmups in order to be able to play. Before, Diggs was a lock for fantasy, but now it may be best to shift attention elsewhere.
The Vikings have announced that Diggs will be active for Sunday’s game for Week 13 after testing his knee a little over an hour before kickoff. So, Diggs will play, but it’s unclear as to what the Vikings plans are for the wideout. Knowing Diggs, he will probably do his best to avoid a limited snap count, but the Vikings may take it easy with him this week.