The Dallas Cowboys filled a pressing need at the cornerback position, selecting Alabama star Trevon Diggs. Diggs made the switch from two-way player to corner his sophomore year and has progressively gotten better since ditching his wide receiver responsibilities.
Diggs has an excellent combination of size and length at 6-foot- 2, 207 pounds. He is a dynamic athlete with smooth hips that he can quickly unlock to keep up with receivers. Showing the ability to crowd the catch point, he demonstrates elite ball skills to intercept passes he gets his hands on.
Diggs shows patience at the line of scrimmage, but can struggle at times staying in the receivers hip pocket because of his lack of technique and refinement. Diggs has plenty of upside and will compete for starter snaps his rookie year as the club sorts through their top two remaining CBs (Chidobe Awuzie, Jourdan Lewis) entering the final year of their contracts.
Film Study vs Auburn (2019)
Dane Brugler | The Athletic
Position Rank: 4
SUMMARY
A two-year starter at Alabama, Diggs lined up primarily at left cornerback in Nick Saban’s press-man heavy scheme, occasionally seeing snaps vs. the slot. He was better known as Stefon Diggs’ younger brother growing up, but he grew out of his shadow and carved his own path, playing his college ball at Alabama instead of Maryland and changing his number (wears No. 7 due to Tyrann Mathieu). Diggs arrived in Tuscaloosa as a two-way player and his offensive background benefits him on defense with his ball skills and awareness for what the offense is trying to do. He will drive his NFL defensive coaches crazy with his hopping around and sporadic technique, but his read/react skills and athleticism allow him to get away with it. Overall, Diggs needs to clean up his technique and discipline in coverage to reach his full potential, but he has shown improvement in those areas and projects as an NFL starter due to his size, twitch and competitive nature.
GRADE: 1st-2nd Round
Kyle Crabbs | The Draft Network
50th overall player
Scouting Report
Trevon Diggs fits the profile of a Cover 3/press man cornerback at the next level. Diggs’ length makes him an ideal player to play press at the line of scrimmage and put him in positions to physically challenge receivers to stack the edge in run support. Diggs’ lack of consistency in run support is frustrating and he can be hit or miss locating the football; so the perfect system is one that requires him to play bail technique and operate primarily in a deep third as a perimeter CB.
Best Trait – Length
Worst Trait – Tackling
Best Film – Duke (2019)
Worst Film – LSU (2019)
Bob Sturm | The Athletic
Grade: 2nd Round
CB Rank: 8
Positives
As you can probably tell from the measurements above, his biggest positives at this point in time start with physical attributes that put him up near the top of the class of big and long corners. He has traits that generally get everyone quite excited in the search for Richard Sherman II, or something like that. He absolutely can demonstrate great confidence. His instincts are actually quite impressive and can likely be traced to his time on offense all of those years for understanding what is happening from the QB’s perspective. There are absolute flashes where he looks extraordinary for sure, and he also will go find the football. Further, there are some real positives to playing in the Alabama scheme for so long and the matchups against very big and physical opponents who will challenge you all day. You look at plays like the interception against Duke (below), and you quickly see why some people can’t stop raving about the player.
Concerns
The concerns are more based on a few things that come quickly to mind. First, the day he had against Ja’Marr Chase and LSU is a tough one to fully forget about when looking at his body of work. In this head-to-head challenge, you could tell that he lost confidence and things got progressively worse. He looks to roll largely with feel and confidence, so when you lose that, things spiral in a hurry. He is going to take you on a wild ride with his poor technique and decision-making at times, and you would like to see a coach or veteran demand a lot out of him, as so many young corners need. Some get that refinement and take off while others stall at their current spot and seem content with “what got them this far.” The other issues are that he wanted to wait until his pro day to do actual combine testing and did not run at the combine, so his testing scores are a bit mysterious and his speed is a bit of a concern at the moment.
Lance Zierlein | NFL
Grade: 6.39- Will be a starter in two years
Scouting Report
Talented prospect with rare combination of size, strength and ball skills. As a former receiver, Diggs has an instinctive feel for his opponent’s plans and uses his size and athleticism to disrupt the blueprint when possible. The foot agility and short-area burst are good for his size and helped keep completion totals low. He’s inconsistent staying in phase with downfield routes and long speed is his kryptonite, causing grabbing and holding when panic sets in. He’s a future starting press-man corner with the hands and ball tracking to take it away and should benefit from more help over the top as a pro. Future consideration at free safety is possible considering his size and skill set.
Mike Renner | Pro Football Focus
Final Position Rank: 6
Final Overall Rank: 31
Projection: Round 1 – Round 2
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