5 Dallas Cowboys that are shining despite a poor record
3. player. 123. . . . Trevon Diggs, CB
After the 2020 NFL Draft, most people looked at wide receiver CeeDee Lamb as the player to watch this season. While he has been playing great, it is cornerback Trevon Diggs that has impressed the most.
Diggs was a second-round draft pick that the Dallas Cowboys needed to step up immediately. Fans and analysts were saying the team needed to address their defensive back situation for the past couple of years.
Because of his late transition from wide receiver to cornerback, some thought he would need time to develop. Depending on how you look at him, he should or should not be on this list. Let me explain.
In nine games, the rookie allowed 37 receptions for a whopping 565 yards. That averages out to 15.3 yards per reception.
As a comparison, Minnesota Vikings rookie cornerback Cameron Dantzler allowed 33 completions for 387 yards. That averages out to 11.7 yards per completion. That’s in only seven games.
What helps Diggs out is that he has done a great job being aggressive and preventing completions. He is allowing only a 56.1 percent completion percentage.
He is not afraid to take the chance and try to get his hands on the ball. That explains the low completion percentage but high yardage given up. It also explains why he has ten pass breakups and two interceptions.
To counter that, you can say he had one great game that makes his stats look better. That references his performance in Week 8, where he defended four passes and intercepted two passes. He was also Pro Football Focus’ rookie of the week.
Omitting that game leaves him with six passes defended and zero interceptions. That is a much more underwhelming stat line, but that doesn’t take away his low completion percentage allowed.
Even on tape, the Alabama product has looked impressive. He hasn’t been perfect, but considering the difficult situation he is in, he has been playing very well. He deserves this credit, and I am very excited to see him continue developing.
For a while, everyone thought Diggs would miss the rest of the season after suffering a hairline foot fracture. Head coach Mike McCarthy got our hopes up and said there is a chance he can return before the end of the season. There are six weeks left for a possible return.