“Stefon Diggs Fantasy Outlook for 2025: Full breakdown of his ACL recovery, return timeline, and draft value. Should you stash him late?”
Stefon Diggs just signed a three-year, $69 million contract with $26 million guaranteed to join the New England Patriots. Drake Maye now gets an experienced WR1, but Diggs is coming off a serious ACL tear suffered last season. But what is Stefon Diggs’ fantasy outlook after the injury?
Fantasy football managers are wondering if they should trust Diggs in 2025 drafts. At IDP Plus, our NFL Injury Deep Dive experts, both physical therapists, offer a full breakdown from a rehab and fantasy perspective.
(This is an AI-generated article from a recently published IDP+ Betting Podcast transcript.)
More Fantasy Football And Draft Advice
Stefon Diggs Injury Background
Before looking into Stefon Diggs’ fantasy outlook for 2025, let’s talk about the timing of the injury. Diggs tore his right ACL in Week 8 against the Indianapolis Colts on October 27, 2024. The injury occurred without contact, as Diggs planted to cut and his knee gave out unexpectedly.
Importantly, he suffered a clean ACL tear, meaning no additional ligament or meniscus damage.
He will have exactly 10 months and one week of recovery time before Week 1. Standard ACL timelines recommend 10 to 12 months before full return to elite-level sport activities.
Medical Deep Dive: Understanding the ACL
The ACL is one of four major stabilizing ligaments in the knee, crucial for dynamic movements like cutting and jumping. Surgical repair uses grafts from either the patellar tendon or hamstrings to replace the torn ligament.
Bone-Patellar-Bone grafts are strong but add additional healing sites around the knee.
Hamstring grafts avoid the knee but weaken other leg muscles initially. After surgery, regaining lateral movement and athletic explosiveness takes longer than simply regaining straight-line strength.
Recovery Factors Specific to Stefon Diggs
Here’s some things to consider with this injury and Stefon Diggs fantasy outlook in 2025. Diggs’ age (31) presents more challenges for a full explosive recovery compared to younger athletes. Wide receivers demand exceptional lateral quickness, acceleration, and reliable cutting ability — all heavily dependent on ACL integrity.
Physically, his recovery timeline looks good, but mental trust and movement confidence could still lag early in the season. To return safely, he must meet key benchmarks: 70% strength for jogging, 80% for running, and 90% for full sport. Hop tests must also hit 90% symmetry between legs before clearance for full competition drills.
Comparable Case Studies
Let’s talk about how some other players did and how that could compare to Stefon Diggs’ fantasy outlook in 2025. Kendrick Bourne, now Diggs’ teammate, tore his ACL two days before Diggs in 2023.
Bourne began 2024 on the PUP list and managed only 28 catches and 305 yards across 12 games.
Chris Godwin tore his ACL late in 2021 but produced over 1,000 receiving yards just nine months later.
Godwin’s case shows elite players can recover quickly, but he was only 26 years old at the time.
Diggs falls somewhere between Bourne’s cautionary recovery and Godwin’s impressive return, factoring in age and rehab time.
Stefon Diggs’ Fantasy Football Outlook For 2025
In 2024, Diggs finished WR21 overall, typically drafted around pick 43 in PPR formats.
Early 2025 rankings list him between WR47 and WR59, reflecting risk with age, injury, and a team change.
We strongly recommend avoiding Diggs through the first seven rounds of fantasy drafts.
Rounds 8 through 10 are where his risk matches potential reward, assuming you’ve secured reliable starters already. If Diggs slips past Round 10, he becomes a high-upside bench stash with league-winning second-half potential.
Final Decision On Stefon Diggs’ Fantasy Outlook
Stefon Diggs is no longer a safe bet for early-round fantasy production, but his upside remains massive late in drafts. Expect a slow start as Diggs rebuilds mental trust and lateral movement confidence across September and early October.
By midseason, however, he could emerge as a target hog for Drake Maye and a fantasy playoff weapon. Check out IDP Plus for more detailed injury breakdowns and subscribe for future NFL offseason fantasy content.
Thank you for reading this article by @IDP_Plus. This article was created using IDP+ AI and edited by Justin Mark. Be sure to check out the video above by The Degen Doc and Professor Locke, which this video is based on, talking about fantasy football dynasty running backs’ landing spots. Follow them @TheDegenDoc and @Prof_Lock2 on X!
