Stefon Diggs is still without a team for the 2026 season, but that hasn’t stopped him from making a bold case for himself.
The former Minnesota Vikings wideout, who turned in a strong 2025 season with the New England Patriots, has been training while he waits for his next opportunity. He’s also been sharing those workouts on his YouTube channel, and in one recent video he made his pitch plain: he believes there isn’t a better No. 2 receiver in the NFL.
"Opportunities aside, people might say there's like what? Seven [receivers] that's like real 1s [right now].
In my opinion, I can compete with anybody. But take those as your 1s, right?
You can't name a No. 2 better than me."
That’s a pretty confident line from a player who has spent most of his career as a team’s top target, but it also reflects where Diggs may be viewed now. Around the league, he probably isn’t seen the same way he was two or three years ago. Even so, his production with New England last season was still strong enough to keep him in the conversation.
Diggs led the Patriots with 85 catches and 1,013 receiving yards in 2025. The question is how that stack up against the other receivers who fit the WR2 label heading into next season.
Based on last year’s performances, the top five No. 2 receivers heading into 2026 can be grouped as George Pickens of the Dallas Cowboys, Jameson Williams of the Detroit Lions, Tee Higgins of the Cincinnati Bengals, Davante Adams of the Los Angeles Rams, and Michael Pittman Jr. of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
If the discussion stays at the simplest level - straight box score production - Pickens comes out on top. He put together the strongest overall 2025 campaign among the group and made the clearest case for being the best WR2 in the league.
But if the lens shifts to play-by-play efficiency, Diggs has a real argument.
Among the six receivers in this comparison, Diggs finished first in expected points added per target, receiving success rate, and catch rate. When the ball went his way last season, the results were better than what any of the other five produced.
Pickens wasn’t far behind, though. He ranked second in expected points added per target and success rate, which gives his supporters plenty to work with and makes the debate tougher than it first appears.
Diggs should have little trouble convincing people that he’s a better WR2 than Williams, Higgins, Adams, and Pittman. Pickens is the problem. That’s the one name that keeps standing in the way of Diggs claiming the top spot.
So if Diggs lands with a new team soon, he can probably still call himself one of the best No. 2 receivers in football. But the best?
That title, based on last season’s numbers, belongs to Pickens. Diggs, at least for now, can settle for being the No.
2 WR2 in the NFL.
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