Dallas Cowboys: Trevon Diggs is building a reputation as an elite CB

On the Dallas Cowboys there was never any question as to who the clear CB1 was on the roster. Trevon Diggs, their second round pick from the 2020 NFL Draft, came on strong the latter part of last season. Opting to forgo the CB position in free agency, Dallas banked on him being “the guy” in just his second season.

The rest of the league wasn’t quite so optimistic. Many scoffed at the Dallas Cowboys cornerback corps this year. They questioned whether Diggs could be a reliable CB1 in this league and whether Dallas surrounded him with enough talent to allow him to succeed.

Welp, Trevon Diggs answered those critics.

Trevon Diggs is building a reputation as an elite cornerback on the Dallas Cowboys.

In the past eight games Trevon Diggs has six interceptions and 14 pass deflections. He’s getting his hands on the ball every game and he’s he’s making opponents pay for it. On Monday night that came at the cost of six points.

We spoke of his rise to stardom most of this offseason. We pointed out he was quietly given a top-5 coverage rating the second half of last year and was seemingly getting better by the day.

This season the graders at Pro Football Focus haven’t been all that kind to Trevon. They’ve been dinging him hard for his run defense which was overshadowing his stellar coverage. But that may be in past after his breakout performance on national television Monday Night.

Diggs was routinely making plays on the ball. His ability to shadow Devonta Smith, one of the NFL’s shiftiest route-runners, was shocking even to his biggest supporters. It seems every game he’s taking another step in his develop and if he isn’t considered an elite coverage man today, he’s ridiculously close.

Pro Football Focus, our unbiased graders we mentioned above, even recognize it. They gave Diggs a coverage grade of 87 this season which is tops in the league. Let that sink in.

The real pressure now builds for whoever is lining up WITH Trevon Diggs. With the recognition and respect will come avoidance. Teams are going to start targeting cornerbacks not named “Diggs” in coming weeks. It will be up to guys like Anthony Brown, Jourdan Lewis, Maurice Canady and [eventually] Kelvin Joseph to make them pay for that.

We saw Brown take advantage of a bad pass early in the game when he also pulled in an interception. But we also saw Lewis miss an opportunity and Canady miss a couple chances himself as well. The good news is the Dallas Cowboys seem to have found their elite cornerback and that’s one of the hardest things to find in this league. The fact they got him with the 51st pick is just icing on the cake.

It’s Diggs SZN in Dallas and the whole NFL is on notice.

Who do you think will be the starter opposite Diggs by the end of the season?