Trevon Diggs is one of the most polarizing players in the NFL. Some fans and members of the media love him while others think his ball-hawking abilities aren’t worth the big plays he gives up.
But to answer the question whether or not Diggs is overrated requires more than just looking at his total interceptions and yards given up from 2021. So let’s lay out everything worth evaluating about Diggs and his abilities and see if he really is overrated.
The positives
Diggs used his lengthy 6’2 height and 6’6 wingspan to grab 11 interceptions and tally 142 return yards, both were the most in the NFL last season by a considerable margin. His two interceptions returned for touchdowns were also tied for first.
The turnover battle in a game is always crucial in determining the winning team. There’s no doubt Diggs getting the offense back on the field helped propel Dallas into having the most total yards of offense per game (407), the second-most passing yards per game (307) and the most points per game (31) in the NFL last year.
It’s also important to remember the impact Micah Parsons had on those stats. When a pass rusher has 12 sacks in a season, the sixth most in the NFL, quarterbacks respond by getting the ball out early and forcing bad throws.
But Parsons’ ability to get the ball out of a QB’s hands quickly shouldn’t discredit Diggs’ dominance last season. It takes skill to read a quarterback’s eyes and jump a route before coming down with an interception. The duo complement each other very well.
The negatives
All those interceptions certainly came at a price. Diggs had to take risks to accumulate all those turnovers, and that resulted in 1,016 yards allowed in coverage. Advanced stats also show that many of the receptions he gave up went for 15+ yards and touchdowns.
While Diggs did an excellent job getting the ball back to his offense, many scoring drives from opposing teams were built from targeting Diggs downfield. Thus leading to more points on the board for the other team and a steeper hill for the Cowboys offense to climb to keep up.
Diggs is still learning the ropes
Diggs started his college career at Alabama as a wide receiver. In his freshman season, he caught only 11 passes for 88 yards.
When sophomore year rolled around, coach Nick Saban shifted Diggs over to cornerback for the first time in his football career.
Last season was only Diggs’ fifth as a cornerback. Earlier this offseason at a charity softball game, Diggs was candid about where he’s at in only his second season as a pro, playing a position that’s still somewhat new to him. He had this to say:
“I’m still new playing corner, so I have a lot of things to work on and I work on everything, still to this day.”
All things considered, it would be crazy to discount a season where a player posts 11 interceptions. He wasn’t far off the all-time single-season NFL interception record of 14.
Diggs will continue to grow as a player and part of that process is learning from past mistakes to become better season-by-season. If Diggs can learn to take risks at the right times, it could help to decrease that huge 1,016 yards allowed in coverage. It may also result in less turnovers for the defense, but it would be worth it to allow less big plays down the field.
