Stefon Diggs Is Chasing History

Stefon Diggs' rookie season with the Minnesota Vikings has been flat out remarkable, and that continued Sunday in Chicago. Diggs ended the game with 6 catches for 95 yards, and the game tying touchdown late in the game. In the four of the seven games he's been active, his game by game breakdown is as follows:

That's pretty impressive, no doubt. But to put it into a little more perspective, consider this--In the 2015 NFL Draft, there were 6 wide receivers taken in the first round. They are:

That was the most wide receivers taken in the first round since 2009. Coming off the success the 2013 WR draft class had, led by Sammy Watkins and Odell Beckham, Jr., there were high expectations for this group. But the results have been very disappointing, save for Cooper. How bad is it? Overall, their stats are as follows:

So of the six guys taken in round one, Diggs, in only playing four of a possible seven games, has more yards receiving than five of the receivers...combined. He has almost 100 more yards receiving than five of the six guys...combined. Amari Cooper has been fantastic for the Raiders so far, but if you average out what Diggs has done into a full seven games, he comes out with 44 receptions, 733 yards, and four scores, numbers which would be ahead of Cooper, too. And Diggs is also chasing history, both from a league and team perspective. Consider this information:

#Vikings’ S.Diggs has 419 rec. yds in 1st 4 career gms –only A.Boldin (464 yds in ‘03) has fared better in the #NFL since 1960.

— Kelly Beaton (@KellyBeaton) November 1, 2015

There are three rookie WR's that have had standout years for the Vikings that pop into my head--Percy Harvin in 2009, Randy Moss in 1998, and Sammy White in 1976. All three won Rookie Of The Year honors, and all were dynamic players. Harvin might be a guy you would think had a fast start with Zombie Brett Favre and all, but you would be wrong. The 2009 NFC Offensive Rookie Of The Year only had a high game of 51 yards receiving in his four games, although he did have two touchdowns. Surprisingly, Harvin only had one 100 yard receiving game that year, and that didn't come until week 11, when he had 101 yards receiving against the Bears in a 36-10 win.

So let's get to the Moss comparison, because that's what everyone wants to see. Diggs is actually ahead of Moss' first four games in 1998. That year, Moss blew up the NFL with 69 catches, 1313 yards, 17 TD, and a yards per catch average of 19.0 yards. His first game was a highlight reel game, with 95 yards and 2 TD's against Tampa Bay, including a ridiculous 48 yard WHOOP WHOOP juggling effort. But after that, Moss was kind of quiet over his next three games. Let's take a look:

After his week one debut, he had a good game against the Rams, but fairly pedestrian numbers for the other two games. It was week five that Moss had his 190 yard, 2 touchdown coming out party on Monday Night Football against Green Bay in Lambeau, and on the season he ended up with four 100 yard receiving games.

How about Sammy White? White, who was the NFL Rookie Of The Year in 1976, had an impressive start with the Vikings. He had 71 and 139 yards receiving in his first two games, but only 24 over the next two, including a forgettable 1 catch 1 yard effort in a week three win at Detroit. He finished the year with 51 catches for 906 yards, and 10 touchdowns. He had three 100 yard receiving games that year, and one of those games was a 7 catch, 210 yard day, also against the Lions. Of the four receivers, White is the only one to have a 200 yard receiving game in his rookie campaign.

What Stefon Diggs is doing right now is something that, quite literally, no rookie wide receiver has ever done in a Minnesota Vikings uniform to begin a career, and something very few have ever done in the NFL. Ever.

Here's to hoping he keeps it up.