For many NFL players, a trade to the Buffalo Bills would mark a distinct change in circumstances. Not so for wide receiver Stefon Diggs, who back in 2020 was dealt from one cold-weather team with intensely passionate fans and a history of playoff agony to another with much the same resume.

The Bills and the Minnesota Vikings share many similarities, and the deal they struck under three years ago that sent Diggs to Buffalo is one that has netted equally impressive results for both sides in terms of the impact made by the player they acquired.

Minnesota of course used the first-round selection received from the Bills on LSU wide receiver Justin Jefferson, who has quickly blossomed into one the finest players in his position in the NFL, his incredible performance and stunning fourth-down catch in a remarkable overtime win against Buffalo last Sunday illustrating that point.

Until this season, though, the Diggs-Jefferson trade had netted little in the way of team success for the Vikings. For Diggs and the Bills, it has been a very different story.

Reaching new heights

Diggs’ switch from Minnesota to Buffalo served as the catalyst for him going from one of the better receivers in the NFL to an unquestioned member of the league’s elite.

He is a route-running savant whose rapport with Josh Allen has helped elevate his quarterback to the superstar club and lift the Bills from Wild Card team in 2019 to a clear-cut Super Bowl contender in each of the past two seasons and one most viewed as the favorite heading into 2022 as they seek to atone for successive agonising postseason losses to the Chiefs.

Since arriving in Buffalo, Diggs has racked up 3,745 receiving yards, a tally that is second only to Jefferson (4,076) and scored 25 touchdowns. The Bills rank second in dropback Expected Points Added (EPA) per play behind the Kansas City Chiefs since 2020, per rbsdm.com, with Diggs second in EPA per play among receivers in that time, according to nflindex.com. No receiver with at least 200 plays in that span has a higher Success Rate than Diggs (61.8).

For Diggs, his ascension to arguably the premier wideout in the league is the product of how he has matured after swapping Minneapolis for Western New York.

Asked about the reasons for his rise to the top since becoming a Bill, Diggs – speaking as part of his partnership with SAXX.com – said this: “I feel like just maturity. Part of my maturation process was the people that I was around when I got a fresh start and I got a new home.

“I feel like I didn’t really do too many things different, but they embraced me, they let me be myself. They didn’t look at me as anything other than somebody that was gonna be a part of a family. So I felt like I took it in stride and I took it with grace because I was so thankful for that opportunity and it worked out. So I feel like the universe does honor grace.”

Doing good business

Diggs’ success on the field has been mirrored off the field by the range of endorsement deals he has signed.

As of May 2022, Diggs was listed as having earnings of $38.7 million by Forbes, and he has struck several high-profile agreements this year.

In April, he partnered with Nike’s Jordan brand and is wearing its ‘Jumpman’ cleats this season and in August he signed on with M&T Bank MTB -0.1%0.0% as part of its “Football Brings Us Together” campaign. On top of those deals, Diggs has starred in commercials for Snickers and DraftKings this year, though he does not believe such link-ups are a direct consequence of any kind of rise in profile due to his devastating connection with Allen and his leading role in pivotal playoff games for the Bills.

“Seeing that I was in a market prior to this, I probably got a little bit of a leg up because I was currently in the market before, had a lot of great partnerships and brand relationships that that were built over time. It wasn’t something that happened overnight. So I tried to keep my nose clean, I tried to keep my head on straight and do good business,” Diggs said of his portfolio of endorsements.

“Because if you do good business, it breeds good business. So as far as like going into this new team and ascending as a player, it was something that directly correlated to having good relationships with people, they know you, they know of you and they feel comfortable working with you. So primetime games might bring a little bit more, but I feel like if you’re doing good business word travels fast.”

Diggs and his brother, Dallas Cowboys cornerback Trevon, will each have extra motivation to continue their respective ascensions on Thanksgiving, when the Bills face the Detroit Lions and the Cowboys take on the New York Giants.

As part of its partnership with the siblings and in honour of Men’s Health Awareness Month, SAXX is donating $10,000 to the Testicular Cancer Foundation if Stefon scores a touchdown or Trevon has an interception on Thanksgiving.

Getting back on track

The Bills will be playing in Detroit in successive weeks, with their Week 11 matchup with the Cleveland Browns moved to Ford Field because of a snowstorm in Buffalo. They head into that matchup on the back of two consecutive losses, in which Allen has thrown four interceptions.

The Buffalo quarterback has tossed six picks in his last three games, including one made by Patrick Peterson in the end zone that clinched a 33-30 road win for the Vikings.

Diggs, though, has no doubt Allen will recover from this rough patch and get the Bills back on course to go deep into the postseason.

“He’s a quarterback built off of resiliency, built off of being counted out. That’s a guy I know for a fact, you put his back against the wall, he gonna come out as dog, he gonna come out on top. So I feel like this is part of his game. This is part of his story. This is one chapter in a book that people might not like to read but, it’s part of it. Adversity does hit, everything isn’t a fairytale, glad it’s happening now and not later on in the season.

“He does some great things on the field and people never need to forget that. You know, it might be some hiccups, it might be some miscues, but overall that boy he’s a 99, he’s amazing at football, and I got his back.”

History says Allen and the Bills will rebound, and Diggs will almost certainly play a pivotal role. On and off the field, Diggs’ success in Buffalo is a result of his ability to build and maintain relationships. The continued strength of the bond he has with his quarterback will likely have a big say in how far the Bills go as they bid to atone for their recent playoff heartache.