Stefon Diggs, New England Patriots
Getty
(Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
The Minnesota Vikings need to find their WR3 for the 2026 NFL season after the departure of Jalen Nailor this offseason. Nailor would leave via free agency for the Las Vegas Raiders, leaving a major hole in the Vikings’ wide receiver depth chart.
With the 2026 NFL Draft approaching, the Vikings have a couple of options: Draft a player, trade for a wideout, or sign a veteran wide receiver. Moreover, there are plenty of big names that would be ideal for Minnesota to slide behind Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison, one of them being Stefon Diggs, who spent last season with the New England Patriots.
In an April 7 video from his X account, ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter shared the latest on the handful of veteran wideouts currently out in the open market.
“If you’re a team that needs a wide receiver right now, on April 7, and I would imagine we may get a little bit of movement on this leading into the draft as we tape this, all of these players are free,” Schefter said. “But check out the decorated list of names at the wide receiver position as we get closer to the draft later this month in Pittsburgh.
“Deebo Samuel, Jauan Jennings, Tyreek Hill, Odell Beckham Jr., DeAndre Hopkins, Stefon Diggs. That’s a decorated list of free-agent wide receivers still on the street, still looking for work. I wouldn’t be shocked if we saw a couple of these names added to teams right before the draft, somebody trying to get some reinforcements right before the draft to take off some of the need they have at the receiver position.”
Vikings Predicted to Be a Landing Spot for Stefon Diggs
Regarding Minnesota, CBS Sports’ Garrett Podell recently predicted that the team will go for a familiar face in Diggs, who played for the Vikings from 2015 to 2019, to fill the wideout role behind Jefferson and Addison, should the veteran wide receiver resolve his legal trouble.
“Diggs’ legal trouble is likely why he remains available,”Podell wrote in his CBS Sports article published on April 3. “Hepleaded not guilty to felony strangulation and other criminal charges following an alleged assault of his personal chef. Diggs’ attorney, Mitchell Schuster, claims his client is ‘completely innocent.’
“If Diggs’ legal process is resolved, a homecoming to theMinnesota Vikings makes plenty of sense. Jalen Nailor departed for the Las Vegas Raiders in free agency, so there’s an opening at Minnesota’s WR3 spot after 2022 NFL Offensive Player of the Year Justin Jefferson and former first-round pick Jordan Addison.”
DeAndre Hopkins Sends Blunt Message to Minnesota
Moreover, Diggs isn’t the only name from that list of veteran wideouts to be in the speculation mill with a connection to the Vikings. Recently, Hopkins issued a message to Minnesota, as he wouldn’t mind reuniting with his former teammate, Kyler Murray.
“Kyler … that’s my bro, man. Kyler is like family,”Hopkins said in a TMZ article published on March 22. “Whatever I can do for someone like that — if Kyler needed me, if the Vikings need me, they know I’ll be there.”
The 33-year-old spent last season with theBaltimore Ravens, recording 22 receptions for 330 receiving yards, averaging 15.0 yards per reception, and two touchdowns.