National Football League

Why the Stefon Diggs trade set the Bills further behind the AFC's elite

Published Apr. 3, 2024 3:09 p.m. ET

Colin Cowherd isn't sure where the Buffalo Bills will turn after reportedly trading star wide receiver Stefon Diggs to the Houston Texans on Wednesday. But he is sure of one thing — Bills quarterback Josh Allen signed off on the deal.

"I was told a year ago that privately Josh Allen was getting frustrated with some of the drama [around Diggs]," Cowherd said on Wednesday's edition of "The Herd."

Cowherd also pointed out that the recent success Kansas City Chiefs has proved it's possible to win a Super Bowl without a bona fide star wide receiver. If the Bills were forced to choose between Allen and Diggs, the choice was obvious.

"When it's the NFL, you keep the quarterback if he's B-plus or above," Cowherd said.

Still, it's extremely difficult to retool after trading a star wide receiver the way the Chiefs did en route to back-to-back Super Bowls after dealing away Tyreek Hill in 2022.

"Andy Reid, the greatest offensive coach arguably ever and maybe the best coach ever has rebuilt his offensive line twice in a year, rebuilt his receiving corps more than once, and his defense," Cowherd said. "And they just keep getting Super Bowls."

But Cowherd is not confident that Bills head coach Sean McDermott and general manager Brandon Beane can pull off a similar revamp after trading Diggs — and letting No. 2 wide receiver Gabe Davis leave for the Jacksonville Jaguars in free agency.

Stefon Diggs trade puts Bills in a tough WR rebuild

"[McDermott is] a defensive coach who has struggled to build a running game for seven years and has struggled to consistently build an offensive line," Cowherd said. "Can he now totally rebuild his receiving corps in one draft? I have my doubts."

Plus, Diggs is still one of the best among this current generation in wide receivers and leads all NFL pass-catchers in total receiving yards since he was drafted to the league in 2015, as Cowherd pointed out. His departure makes the Bills less talented, even if, as Cowherd says, the Allen-Diggs connection was never quite the perfect fit that the likes of Joe Burrow and Ja'Marr Chase, Matthew Stafford and Cooper Kupp, and Tom Brady and Julian Edelman before them were. And the Bills have seemingly struggled to surround Allen with talent outside of Diggs.

"Andy Reid, Sean McVay, those guys rebuild receiving corps, rebuild run games, rebuild offensive lines in an offseason," Cowherd said. "I've had my doubts with Pete Carroll's last several offensive lines, Mike Tomlin's offensive lines, Sean McDermott's offensive lines, Brandon Staley and the Chargers'."

Plus, the decision to not only trade Diggs but trade him to the Texans — a young, ascending team who could be another roadblock en route to the AFC championship that the Bills desperately crave — could come back to bite Buffalo in a loaded conference.

"Baltimore looks like it'll be better," Cowherd said. "Kansas City's going nowhere. Miami's still good. Aaron Rodgers coming back [for the New York Jets]. C.J. Stroud is now a star. [Justin] Herbert has Jim Harbaugh.

"The AFC last year was an opening. Burrow [was] hurt. [Patrick] Mahomes had a bad receiving corps. Herbert didn't have a capable coach. The AFC next year is going to get better. The star quarterbacks are getting better, getting healthy. Buffalo [didn't take] advantage of that small window of weakness last year in the conference."

And now, in the wake of trading Diggs, that window is shut and the Bills will face a harder road.

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