Stefon Diggs Boldly Declares Himself Better Than Everyone Else

This NFL offseason is about to enter the training camp phase, as all 32 teams are scheduled to be in camp by July 28. Training camp is when teams start drilling into all the offensive concepts they introduced in mini camp the month prior.

The time spent during training camp is invaluable. Days 1-3 are spent getting players acclimated; days 4-5, players practice in helmets and shells. After a day off on the sixth day, the seventh day of training camp is when the first fully-padded practices are allowed, and the ramp-up to the regular season officially begins.

But with most teams just a week or two out from camp, star wide receiver Stefon Diggs is still looking for a franchise to call his own.

While he is on the wrong side of 30 for a wideout at age 32, the former First-Team All-Pro is coming off a very productive season. Diggs was by far the best wide receiver on the New England Patriots, who were a surprise Super Bowl team last season.

He led the team in targets (102), receptions (85) and receiving yards (1,013).

Diggs bounced back nicely after a devastating knee injury ended his 2024 campaign with Houston after just 8 games. While he was coming off a 2023 season where he put up 107 receptions, 1,183 yards, and 11 touchdowns, his auspicious exit from Buffalo left him with few suitors on the open market.

Historical precedent suggests that the second year after a major knee injury is when the player truly returns to form, and 2026 represents that second year. Despite those positives, Diggs still doesn't have a team.

Over the weekend, he started making his case to NFL teams. "My opinion, I can compete with anybody," Diggs recently said on his YouTube channel. ¨But take those [top wide receivers] as your ones, right? You can't name a number two better than me."

With a declaration as boisterous as that, it's worth examining how much validity there is to that statement.

Are there NFL WR2s better than Stefon Diggs?

While Stefon Diggs was very productive for a New England Patriots wide receiving corps that needed it, his $26.5 million cap hit this season made him expendable. Plus, the Patriots needed the room to trade for AJ Brown, a bona fide number one wide receiver.

But Diggs' announcement that there isn't a better number two in the league deserves some investigation. There are tiers to the answer to that question.

The first tier is... definitely better than Diggs.

The second tier is... on the same level as Diggs (but there is an argument).

And the third tier is... definitely not better than Diggs.

By my count, there are only three WR2s in the league that I would rather have on my team than Stefon Diggs heading into the 2026 season: the Bengals' Tee Higgins, the Cowboys' George Pickens, and the Lions' Jameson Williams.

They are definitely better than him.

In terms of players who are on the same level as Diggs, but who you could reasonably take over him, there are only two players: former Dolphin and current Bronco Jaylen Waddle and Tampa Bay second-year receiver Emeka Egbuka.

Every other wide receiver falls into the ‘definitely not better than Stefon Diggs' tier.

So, by my count, there are at most four wide receivers in the entire league better at his position than he is, and yet he still doesn't have a team.

A big part of the problem is the off-field baggage that could come with Diggs amid his recent high-profile court case. Another issue is that his reputation as a teammate took a hit during his time in Buffalo.

And lastly, but perhaps most importantly, is the fact that he'll be turning 33 during the 2026 season.

Still, Stefon Diggs is a free agent, and while I can name a couple of players who are better than him at this point in his career, the list isn't very long. Somebody should pick him up.

Related: Stefon Diggs or Brandon Aiyuk, who should the Commanders sign?

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This story was originally published July 13, 2026 at 9:09 AM.