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Fantasy Football: 3 Things We Learned From Week 9

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Stefon Diggs Is a Target Hog

A popular sleeper pick in fantasy football drafts after a stellar, albeit inconsistent, rookie season, Stefon Diggs has potential to be a PPR savior for the rest of the season.

Diggs broke out in the first two weeks of the season, where he recorded two straight 100-plus receiving yard games, including a 9-catch, 182-yard, 1-touchdown effort against the Green Bay Packers. But soon thereafter, he went relatively quiet for a few weeks after suffering a groin injury.

Diggs picked back up in Week 8 with a 13-target game in a loss to the Chicago Bears, but there were questions about how the Minnesota Vikings offense would operate with Pat Shurmur calling the plays after Norv Turner's sudden resignation.

The answer? Peppering Diggs with even more targets, as he received 14 in Shurmur's first game at the playcalling helm.

Perhaps targeting Diggs so much is borne out of necessity. The Vikings' offensive line is in absolute shambles, ranked 31st in run blocking and 25th in pass protection, per Football Outsiders.

With an offensive line that can't pass protect, Vikings quarterback Sam Bradford has to deliver quick-strike passes close to the line of scrimmage to stay upright. And Diggs is best suited to make the most of those opportunities, registering a 72.7% catch rate, good for 3rd in the NFL among receivers with at least 50 targets.

While Diggs might not get many opportunities to shake loose and connect on long bombs, his 26.8% team market share -- and 35.1% target share in the last two games -- more than makes up for those missed chances in PPR leagues. If you can still acquire Diggs for a reasonable price, jump at that opportunity as soon as you can.