As he enters his third season in the NFL, Dallas Cowboys star cornerback Trevon Diggs is attempting to find the most effective way to balance both power and responsibility.
In a 2021 season which saw him amass 52 total tackles, 21 passes-defensed and 11 interceptions (two of which were returned for touchdowns), the Alabama product has clearly established himself as one of the league’s most exciting players.
While a handful of 2022 training camp practices may be a small sample size for evaluating any player, Diggs looks to be picking up right where he left off in the previous season. His skill set and swagger have been on full display, thus far.
Set to earn a base salary of $1.18 million on the third year of his rookie contract, Diggs may be the very definition of ‘return-on-investment’ among his peers. In 2021, his 11 interceptions led the NFL, en route to a first-team All-Pro selection.
While possessing top-level speed paired with having a keen instinct for the football, the 23-year-old combines the integral qualities needed for becoming a successful defensive back. While some may argue his need for improving his coverage ability, especially when compared to that of his Cowboys teammate, Anthony Brown, Diggs remains more-than-competent in that regard. As a result, he is poised for a big year as Dallas’ top option on the perimeter at the cornerback position, while remaining under contract at an immensely affordable price.
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However, some continue to argue that Diggs’ statistics may be a bit misleading. Despite his impressive interception totals (14 overall in his first two years), Diggs has the tendency to yield an abundance of receiving years. In 2021, he surrendered 907 yards, averaging 16.8 yards-per-reception along with four touchdowns.
As a result, his skeptics are quick to label his playing style as feast-or-famine, carrying as much risk as it does reward.
To his credit, Diggs is intent on proving his doubters wrong in 2022. He has expressed his opposition to his criticism, yet prefers to let his play on the field tell the story. Still, that has not stopped his teammates, such as linebacker Micah Parsons, from labeling such responses to Diggs’ All-Pro season as “disrespectful.”
“The guy had 11 interceptions,” Parsons told USA Today earlier this month. “We’ve never seen it. I’ve never even seen someone come close to that since I’ve been alive. We haven’t all seen it, and it’s a shame that it got degraded because of, they say, the yards that he gave up… Without a doubt, I thought he was the best defensive player in the league last year. We’ve seen 20 sacks before. But in this era, we’ve never seen no one reach over 10-plus interceptions, so it’s disrespectful, to me, because I think he deserves all the credit in the world and deserves to be named a top-five corner if not the best corner in the league.”
With the Cowboys defense expected to be flush with big play ability, Diggs is expected to lead the charge in the team’s secondary in 2022. He appears to be ready to accept the challenge, and provide Dallas with far more surplus then drought as they pursue a deep postseason run.