Cowboys’ Trevon Diggs emerging as one of NFL’s top young cornerbacks

Trevon Diggs now has five interceptions in his first 14 NFL games. He’s proving quickly that he’s one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL. | From @StarConscience

When a player gets drafted in the second round, there are immediate expectations of quality play on the field. Trevon Diggs, despite missing four games with a broken foot and having early struggles against quality wide receivers, showed why some had him as a Day 1 pick in the 2020 NFL draft. He finished with a team-high three interceptions and 14 passes defended which made him the first rookie in franchise history to lead in both categories.

Diggs would change from No. 27 to No. 7, the same number at Alabama where he received first-team All-SEC and third-team All-American honors in 2019. Early in the 2021 season, he’s showing similar form.

In the season opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Diggs had the task of guarding Mike Evans, one of the best wide receivers in the league. It didn’t phase him one bit though as he completely shut down the three-time Pro Bowler. According to Next Gen Stats, Diggs shadowed Evans on 83% of his routes and allowed just one reception for 10 yards on three targets. Evans had two touchdowns in Week 2. Diggs had also secured his first interception of the season after a pass from Tom Brady went off of the hands of Leonard Fournette.

The Week 2 assignment for Diggs wasn’t a walk in the park either.

This time around he would have to lineup against Los Angeles Chargers star Keenan Allen, another top-tier NFL wideout. About halfway through the first quarter, Diggs would display some incredible athleticism while guarding Allen on an over route. Despite being a step behind, Diggs made a diving interception.

The stat sheet shows that Allen had 108 yards on just four receptions on eight targets. Matched up directly, Allen caught three of six targets while in Diggs’ area, meaning that quarterback Justin Herbert was only successful 50% of the time. Incidentally, Herbert’s second interception came when Allen slipped while Diggs was in coverage and free safety Damontae Kazee hauled in the turnover. Diggs would’ve had a chance for a second pick had Kazee not undercut the route.

Diggs spoke about his matchup with Allen and how he relished the chance to play against one of the league’s best receivers.

“I traveled with him every time,” Diggs said. “Sometimes we were in zone, so I couldn’t really get right there, but I was following him the whole game. He’s a good wide receiver, real good. It was a good competition today. I enjoyed it.”

His career has just started but Diggs is slowly but surely making a name for himself in the league. In just 14 games he’s amassed five interceptions. That’s around one interception every three games which is an outstanding pace.

Diggs also made history with his interception against the Chargers. He became the first Cowboys player since Lee Roy Jordan in 1975 to record two interceptions in the first two games of a season.

Defensive coordinator Dan Quinn was brought in to fix one of the statistically worst defense in team history. After the ups and downs of Diggs as a rookie and seeing his hot start to the new season Quinn is pleased with where he is right now in his development.

“He really has responded,” Quinn said. “Can feel his intent, length, and strength at the line of scrimmage. Very encouraged by his progress.”

After the Cowboy’s big road win against the Chargers, Diggs spoke about how he’s been striving to improve his hands to get more interceptions, which makes sense considering he left quite a few on the field as a rookie.

“I’m working on my hands every day, you know? Just, you know, trying to be around the ball as much as I can, get my hands on as many balls as I can and make sure I catch it,” Diggs said. “So, you know, get more interceptions, get turnovers, you know, lead off on the team and everybody gets interceptions and turnovers.”

The Cowboy’s defense has certainly done that in the first two weeks of this season. Their six turnovers lead the NFL and Diggs has accounted for one-third of them.

Diggs is still learning and developing which makes how good he already is a scary thought for quarterbacks across the league. With 15 games left in 2021, it’ll be intriguing to see what the final stat line will be for Diggs. The way things are currently going, it’ll be quite tasty.

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