Over the course of 11 seasons in the NFL, cornerback Stephon Gilmore has been one of the best at his position. Twice named a first-team All-Pro, Gilmore is also a five-time Pro Bowler, a league interceptions leader, a Super Bowl champion, and 2019’s Defensive Player of the Year.
But over all that time and through all those seasons, there’s one thing Gilmore has never had: a teammate of his own caliber playing opposite him.
Now that he’s with the Cowboys, that’s exactly what he has.
Opposing quarterbacks in the past may have been able to locate Gilmore on the field and then simply throw at the other guy as a viable strategy. But that other guy is now Trevon Diggs, already with two Pro Bowl nods, a first-team All-Pro season, and an interceptions crown of his own… all in just three years of work.
No knock against solid corners like Jason McCourty, A.J. Bouye, or Malcolm Butler, but Gilmore has never played alongside a corner who stacks up to Diggs.
“He just has that thing,” he recently told NFL Network’s Jane Slater. “Some stuff you just can’t teach. He has great ball skills. I’m going to try to just teach him how to be a pro, teach him how to come to work every day and do the little things right. I think he can be the best in the league; he has that type of talent, and I’m just looking forward to helping him. Whatever I can do for him, I’m going to do it.”
The addition of Gilmore in Dallas immediately gives the Cowboys defense the top-rated cornerback duo in the league, according to PFF, who ranked both Gilmore and Diggs in the top 10 at the position across all 32 teams.
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Diggs and the Cowboys are already tied for the most interceptions in the NFL over the past two seasons (42, along with New England). Bringing Gilmore aboard makes the sky the limit in 2023, at least on paper.
The 32-year-old is eager to prove it on the field.
“We can be as good as we want to be. We’ve got to go out there and do it,” Gilmore said, per the team website. “You can’t really talk about it; you’ve got to go out there and make plays.”
And now the highly-decorated veteran will finally have someone who brings just as much potential on the other side of the secondary, both players pushing each other to- hopefully- new heights.
“I’m just looking forward to helping him out as much as I can and me being a good player myself,” Gilmore explained. “I’m just looking forward to going out there and making plays together.”
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