Vikings rookie Stefon Diggs is on a pace over the past two games that, extrapolated over an entire season, would give him more than 100 catches and 1,600 yards receiving.

Those numbers are mentioned here as a source of optimism but overwhelmingly more so as a reminder of the dangers of extrapolation. What we think we know about sports — or more pointedly what we hope to think we can count on — has a way of making us all look foolish.

This thought comes to mind specifically with Diggs and another young receiver he has vaulted past on the Vikings' depth chart: Cordarrelle Patterson.

Patterson in 2013 went to the Pro Bowl, primarily on the strength of being one of the league's most dangerous kickoff returners.

He scored nine touchdowns that season, and we spent several months of 2014 hearing about his potential for a breakout second year under new offensive coordinator Norv Turner. He had 45 catches as a rookie; he had 33 last year. He has two this season in five games and has played a total of 40 snaps.

Many of us got ahead of ourselves, not for the first and certainly not for the last time. A few years ago, I compiled a list of 13 local sports figures who could be primed for breakout years in 2013. This sort of thing is bound to have hits and misses, but looking back at some of the names now (Christian Ponder … Alexey Shved!) offers another reminder of how quickly players go from the potential pile to the discard pile.

Cordarrelle Patterson

Need more evidence? At various points in the last couple of seasons, a Twins fan could have made a convincing argument that any success the team hoped to have in 2015 hinged on the bats of Josmil Pinto, Oswaldo Arcia, Kennys Vargas and Danny Santana.

Their nonfactor status now should help keep us grounded when it comes to 2016 expectations for this year's rookie contributors such as Tyler Duffey, Trevor May, Eddie Rosario and yes, even Miguel Sano.

But again, it's hard to stop that train once it gets moving. Our sporting hopes are powerful things, often overriding what logic is telling us.

When rudimentary math is screaming that Diggs is performing at an elite level, it's more fun to think of the best-case scenario than the quite real possibility of him coming back down to earth.

Maybe in the end it doesn't really matter because if he does become a star those who dreamed big can say, "I told you so," and those same people can easily latch onto the next big thing if it goes in the opposite direction.