05-20-2021, 12:42 PM
8. STEFON DIGGS, BUFFALO BILLSAfter five straight years in Minnesota of very good, but not elite, play, Diggs finally earned that accolade in his first season with the Bills in 2020. He produced a receiving grade between 77.6 and 84.0 in each of his five years as a Viking, always ranking inside the top 25, but he cracked the top 10 just once.
In 2020, Diggs was one of just four receivers with a receiving grade at or above 90.0 in the regular season. He remained one of the most efficient contested-catch receivers in the game, posting a 60% catch rate on such plays to bring his percentage since 2017 to 60.5% — the second-best mark in the league.
9. ADAM THIELEN, MINNESOTA VIKINGSThielen bounced back to top-tier form after an injury-hindered 2019 season. He came away from 2020 with an 87.4 PFF grade that ranked sixth among NFL wide receivers, marking the third time in the past four years he has finished inside the top 10 in that metric.
Thielen’s releases and ability to separate are as good as it gets at the position, helping him grade out as a top-five receiver against single coverage since PFF began tracking that metric in 2017.
10. JUSTIN JEFFERSON, MINNESOTA VIKINGSJefferson silenced everyone doubting his NFL potential in a big way as a rookie. He finished the season with an elite 90.5 receiving grade that trailed only Davante Adams for the best in the NFL, and he was just shy of the rookie record set by Odell Beckham Jr. in 2014 (91.2). The most impressive aspect of his first NFL season was his performance against single coverage. That was an area of concern when he left LSU because of his role there, but he has undoubtedly proved he can handle those situations.
Jefferson maintains his No. 2 receiving grade rank against single coverage and jumps to first in yards per target (13.2) on such plays. The NFL landscape thought the days of Minnesota having a top receiving tandem were over when the franchise traded away Stefon Diggs in the 2020 offseason, but Jefferson is poised to keep the tradition going.
In 2020, Diggs was one of just four receivers with a receiving grade at or above 90.0 in the regular season. He remained one of the most efficient contested-catch receivers in the game, posting a 60% catch rate on such plays to bring his percentage since 2017 to 60.5% — the second-best mark in the league.
9. ADAM THIELEN, MINNESOTA VIKINGSThielen bounced back to top-tier form after an injury-hindered 2019 season. He came away from 2020 with an 87.4 PFF grade that ranked sixth among NFL wide receivers, marking the third time in the past four years he has finished inside the top 10 in that metric.
Thielen’s releases and ability to separate are as good as it gets at the position, helping him grade out as a top-five receiver against single coverage since PFF began tracking that metric in 2017.
10. JUSTIN JEFFERSON, MINNESOTA VIKINGSJefferson silenced everyone doubting his NFL potential in a big way as a rookie. He finished the season with an elite 90.5 receiving grade that trailed only Davante Adams for the best in the NFL, and he was just shy of the rookie record set by Odell Beckham Jr. in 2014 (91.2). The most impressive aspect of his first NFL season was his performance against single coverage. That was an area of concern when he left LSU because of his role there, but he has undoubtedly proved he can handle those situations.
Jefferson maintains his No. 2 receiving grade rank against single coverage and jumps to first in yards per target (13.2) on such plays. The NFL landscape thought the days of Minnesota having a top receiving tandem were over when the franchise traded away Stefon Diggs in the 2020 offseason, but Jefferson is poised to keep the tradition going.
