Cowboys get best-possible Trevon Diggs injury update at mandatory minicamp

Mandatory minicamp is hardly 48 hours old and the Dallas Cowboys have managed to produce no shortage of storylines. Between CeeDee Lamb's continued contract holdout, Micah Parsons acknowledging a potential butting of heads with Mike Zimmer and Zack Martin teasing a possible 2025 retirement, Cowboys fans haven't had a minute to catch their breath.

Contrary to popular belief, it's not all doom and gloom at minicamp. For starters, Mike McCarthy proclaimed that Dak Prescott is having his best offseason program to date. It seems that Prescott has picked up right where he left off after he finished second in MVP voting last season.

Beyond that, McCarthy is pleased with the Cowboys' young players. He mentioned rookie offensive lineman Tyler Guyton and Cooper Beebe by name as two youngsters who have made a strong impression.

Perhaps the biggest positive from minicamp was seeing Trevon Diggs back on the field following ACL surgery. Diggs has been working off to the side with Cowboys director of rehabilitation Britt Brown and the expectation is that he'll be back practicing soon, perhaps as early as the start of training camp.

Trevon Diggs on track to return for Cowboys training camp

Mike McCarthy noted on Wednesday that Diggs could begin training camp on the PUP (physically unable to perform) list. That's standard procedure for players coming off a major injury. Given that training camp spans a month, Diggs will have plenty of reps under his belt by the time the Cowboys depart Oxnard.

Diggs' eventual return will be massive for the Cowboys' defense. Dan Quinn's unit posted gaudy numbers last season, but it was often overmatched by elite offenses. While the run defense received most of the blame, the secondary came up small in a number of games. The playoff loss to the Packers jumps out, but Diggs was missed against the 49ers, Seahawks and Dolphins as well.

It was only a two-game sample size, but Diggs looked like a Defensive Player of the Year candidate before he was lost for the season.

He was targeted eight times and allowed two catches for 26 yards, per Pro Football Focus. He allowed a 1.0 passer rating, broke up two passes, intercepted another and dislodged a pass intended for Saquon Barkley that DaRon Bland returned for one of his record-setting five pick-sixes.

Bland and Stephon Gilmore stepped up to mitigate the loss of Diggs, but at the end of the day there's no replacing a player of Diggs' caliber. He's a unicorn at the cornerback position and his presence was sorely missed last season.

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