The Minnesota Vikings made several upgrades to their wide receiver group during the offseason including trading for Mike Wallace and drafting Stefon Diggs. Wallace has been making the most of his time on the field in order to develop into the top down-field threat Teddy Bridgewater desperately needs while Diggs has been building a solid name for himself after a successful first scrimmage with the team.
The Vikings had their first team scrimmage on Saturday and Diggs was a star of the show. The wide receiver caught one of the first passes of the game from Teddy Bridgewater while also hauling in a touchdown catch. The rookie showed great chemistry with the quarterback while proving he deserves a spot on the roster. Naturally Diggs took a moment to be hard on himself following the game, but his teammates did not notice the struggle.
"To be a young guy, he's showing what it takes to play in this league and we're glad to have him,'' Bridgewater said. "He comes in and he works,'' Bridgewater said, via the Pioneer Press. "Diggs has a group of (receivers) in front of him who set a great example. ... He comes out every day and he just competes.''
The Vikings are deep at the receiver position which means there is plenty of competition at the spot. Along with Wallace and Diggs, Charles Johnson, Jarius Wright, Cordarrelle Patterson and Adam Thielen. The rise of Diggs will certainly hurt someone's status with the team and is could be Patterson's as he tries to finally look like the first-round pick the Vikings selected. Patterson is on thin ice with the team this season. If he fails to show real improvement, the wide receiver could easily be released, but he is confident in his ability to bounce back after two seasons of struggles.
"My first two years, I wasn't focused," Patterson said, via ESPN.com. "I was just out playing, man. My work ethic wasn't where it's supposed to have been. This year, I feel like I'm working harder than I normally do. That's a good thing for me. Just show the coaches I'm worth it, show them I'm out there and trying to get better. I'm ready to go now. I can't wait to see what happens for me in the future."
Both head coach Mike Zimmer and coordinator Norv Turner have noted that Patterson is working to turn a corner this season. If he can show improvement, the receiver will be in a much better place come next season.
