Breaking Down the Emergence of Vikings Rookie WR Stefon Diggs

Minnesota Vikings rookie receiver Stefon Diggs patiently waited his turn this past spring, watching as NFL teams picked 19 players at his position before the Vikings finally called his name with the 146th overall pick. 

After the most productive back-to-back receiving games by a Minnesota rookie since Randy Moss, Diggs is now staring up at just two first-year receivers in the stat book. 

Among rookies, only Amari Cooper (386) and Jamison Crowder (244) have more receiving yards than Diggs. While Cooper and Crowder have both played well over 200 snaps to start the 2015 season, Minnesota's emerging star has only been active during the Vikings' last two games. 

Diggs still has 13 catches for 216 yards. Six of his 13 receptions gained at least 20 yards. Ten of the 13 created first downs, including six on third down. 

He followed up a six-catch, 87-yard debut in Denver before the bye with seven catches for 129 yards in Minnesota's win over the Kansas City Chiefs last Sunday. His teammates hardly seem surprised. 

"He's one of the most polished receivers I've seen (right) out of college," Vikings cornerback Captain Munnerlyn said, via Judd Zulgad of ESPN 1500. "I'm glad he dropped into our hands. I feel like we got a steal in the draft. He works hard. Great routes, great hands."

A lengthy injury history and a lack of consistent production at Maryland dropped Diggs in the draft. Minnesota took him in the fifth round. Two games in, and he now looks like the kind of late-round steal needed to balance the Vikings' drastic miss on former first-round pick Cordarrelle Patterson. 

Sunday's win over the Chiefs was a showcase of Diggs' playmaking ability.

On his first reception, Diggs pushed up the field on first-round pick Marcus Peters, turning the young cornerback inside. He then flashed outside while hardly losing a step of speed, allowing him to make an uncontested catch along the sideline for 16 yards. Peters trailed the play by at least five yards by the time Diggs made the reception. 

Source: NFL Game Pass

A series later, Diggs created another easy throw for quarterback Teddy Bridgewater. The rookie released inside on veteran cornerback Sean Smith and sold the slant. Once Smith overcommitted, Diggs slammed on the brakes and broke outside, leaving Smith grasping at air as he slipped to the turf. Bridgewater made the simple throw, and Diggs danced up the left sideline for 31 yards. 

Source: NFL Game Pass

Three plays later, the Vikings flipped the formation and gave Diggs a chance to run a nearly identical route to the offense's right side. After selling the slant on Peters, he cut to the outside and hauled in another easy catch five yards in front of the coverage. The play was good for 14 yards. 

Diggs didn't always require yards of space. On Minnesota's third possession, Bridgewater threw a perfect back-shoulder attempt against the coverage of Smith. Diggs got his head around and adjusted to the ball in the air, and he was still able to get two feet inbounds with Smith all over him. Twenty more yards. 

Source: NFL Game Pass

Diggs nearly scored his first touchdown on the Vikings' first series of the second half. He caught a bubble screen to the right and navigated through the traffic. It took a shoestring tackle from Tamba Hali just after Diggs made his final cut to keep him from breaking into the clear and scoring six. The 15-yard catch-and-run set up a field goal. 

His biggest reception came a quarter later. Suddenly up just 13-10, the Vikings faced a 3rd-and-15 situation at their own 15-yard line. Bridgewater avoided a three-man rush and looked for his rookie receiver. Diggs had found the soft spot in the Chiefs' zone look. He caught Bridgewater's pass beyond the sticks for 30 yards and a massive first down. 

Source: NFL Game Pass

Diggs finished with seven catches for 129 yards. He became just the second rookie (Cooper) to go over 100 receiving yards in a game this season. 

His ability to make plays down the field has been a big addition for the Vikings offense. 

Bridgewater has targeted Diggs five times on throws traveling over 20 yards in the air. He's 5-of-5 for 101 yards on those attempts, per Pro Football Focus. In fact, Bridgewater has missed on only one target to Diggs over 10 yards over the last two games.  

Head coach Mike Zimmer has noticed. 

"He works really hard and he runs good routes, he catches the ball good, he’s competitive, he really wants to be good and so I think that’s why he works so hard at it," Zimmer said Monday. "And he’s talented as well."

Diggs looks like the rare young receiver capable of creating technique errors in coverage and giving his quarterback separation at the end of routes. He hasn't needed to make many contested catches over the first two games, mostly because he has frequently generated acres of space with his route running. His deep speed—when combined with his ability to maintain speed in and out of breaks—has made him a difficult cover. 

The Vikings look like they have a young receiver with some serious staying power in Diggs.

Zach Kruse covers the Vikings for Bleacher Report.