NFL’s Most Overrated and Underrated: Trevon Diggs
Dallas Cowboys cornerback Trevon Diggs took the NFL world by storm in 2021 when, in just his second year, he was able to rack up 11 interceptions, tying Everson Walls for a single season franchise record. These eye-popping stats earned Diggs his first Pro Bowl selection. It also led to him being selected as first team All-Pro. And for the life of me, I just can’t figure out why or how this happened.
Sure those 11 picks jump off the page and may look impressive to the average fan, but when looking at film you see the countless number of interceptions that were the results of tipped passes or just being in the right place at the right time. And yes, Diggs has shown incredible ball skills as a defensive back. As a former wideout, I’d expect that to be the case. But the thing Diggs struggles with is the one thing you want your defensive backs to be good at: covering receivers and being able to lock them down.
Diggs’ play is the embodiment of high risk, high reward. His 11 interceptions were certainly impressive, but the aggressiveness needed to constantly make these plays saw him get burned a lot. His 2021 season saw him give up 907 yards, a mark that was one of the worst in the league. He also was giving up 16.8 yards per attempt, further illustrating the big play potential he was liable for giving up.
For context, Jalen Ramsey, who also was first team All-Pro in 2021, gave up only 624 yards. And many considered it a down year for Ramsey. He was also only allowing 10.8 yards per attempt, a whole six yards less than his counterpart Diggs.
Again, I’m not trying to say that Diggs is a horrible cornerback. I’m just trying to highlight that people often get enamored by the interception numbers and return touchdowns he had while disregarding the faults in his game. His selection to be first team All-Pro was given well to soon and could have gone to true lockdown corners like AJ Terrell or even J.C. Jackson.
Diggs is still quite young. And there is time for him to channel this aggressiveness and become a true lockdown corner. To me, though, he’s just getting too much praise too early in his career while having way too many faults in his game.
However, this Cowboys defense, with the likes of Micah Parsons and Leighton Vander Esch, is something for fans to be excited about. And Diggs certainly has the playmakers around him to hone his skills and become a true premier corner. But for now, let’s slow the hype train down just a little bit. At least until Diggs shows he’s not a liability anytime a receiver does a double move.
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