Stefon Diggs to Washington has been an oft-rumored marriage all summer given the Commanders’ thin WR room and Diggs’ Maryland roots, and they made it official on Wednesday afternoon. Diggs turns 33 years old in November but will immediately assume WR2 duties for Washington; how much does he have left in the tank, and what does this move mean for other Commanders pass catchers? Let’s dive in.
STEFON DIGGS
- Diggs showed no signs of decline in his age-31 season with the Patriots in 2025, commanding 0.25 targets per route run (via Sports Info Solutions) at 9.1 yards per target (including postseason). His 4.1 yards after the catch per reception was his highest figure since 2019, though it coincided with the second-lowest average depth of target (8.4 yards) of his career, ahead of only 2024. It makes sense that his aDOT has trailed off with his age working against his downfield playmaking ability, but the per-target efficiency and post-catch ability were still there for Diggs as of last season. Of course, the age cliff can come fast and it’s sensible to expect some decline with Diggs another year older, but he didn’t look washed the last time we saw him.
- The Patriots did keep Diggs in a part-time role, to be fair. He peaked at 68.7% of snaps as New England heavily rotated WRs, which likely bolstered his efficiency from a freshness and usage perspective (he was more likely to be on the field if New England wanted him involved in the play). He won’t have to play every snap in Washington with new OC David Blough‘s offense emphasizing multi-TE sets, along with the prospect of getting other receivers on the field in clear running situations. However, he’s a lock to surpass the 53.8% seasonal snap rate he posted with the Pats. Playing more snaps will likely hurt his efficiency at age 32 (he was at 8.0 YPT from 2021-2024), but the target-earning ability should still be there.
- Diggs played more snaps in the slot than out wide last year, his first time playing mostly in the slot since 2016.
- Overall, Diggs has age-related concerns, as he’ll turn 33 during the season. But he didn’t show signs of slowing down last season, albeit in a limited role. He has zero competition for the WR2 role and should carve out a sizable role in this offense fairly quickly.
OTHER COMMANDERS PLAYERS
- Terry McLaurin‘s TPRR was good but not dominant (0.23) with Deebo Samuel on the field last season, a microcosm of his career from a target-earning standpoint. Despite seasons with minimal target competition, McLaurin has struggled to earn more than a quarter of Washington’s pass attempts. His last three seasons: 21%, 22%, and 20% target shares. With Diggs in town, this seems likely to continue, and Diggs was a legit target getter on a per-route basis. McLaurin is still the WR1 here, and his 9.7 YPT in 2025 was frankly super impressive considering the QB issues, but it’s fair to question the target ceiling. We moved McLaurin slightly down in the rankings.
- Chig Okonkwo has been a buzzy player all summer, with ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler referring to him as the “de facto WR2” in recent days. He now falls to third priority in this pass game. Okonkwo has been in the 0.20-0.21 TPRR range in each of the last three seasons, and his 7.4 career yards per target is not bad considering the incompetency of the Tennessee passing game in recent years. Still, Diggs is simply a superior pass catcher. While Okonkwo remains the clear TE1 from a pass-catching standpoint, the addition of another capable WR hurts him.
- Antonio Williams has reportedly been stuck in the slot this summer, not overly surprising after he played 78% of his career college snaps inside (via Dane Brugler’s The Beast), and he had been competing with Luke McCaffrey and Jaylin Lane for primary slot duties. The Diggs addition is a death blow to his outlook considering he hadn’t separated as a clear starter over LMC/Lane yet and now adds Diggs — who primarily played in the slot last season — to the fold. We can’t totally rule out a late-season push from Williams, who was picked in the third round of this year’s draft, but this is a killer for his early-season path to playing time.
- Treylon Burks has reportedly had a good camp and likely will still contend for snaps on the outside, but he also averaged 5.9 yards per target with a 0.15 TPRR last season. He’s not relevant for fantasy.
- LMC and Lane get pushed even further down the depth chart and have to beat out Dyami Brown and Van Jefferson for roster spots, not that any of those guys matter for fantasy.
- This is also a pretty notable boost for Jayden Daniels: He now gets to throw to Diggs, who averaged 9.1 YPT last season, instead of Burks (5.9) or a third-round rookie (Williams).
