Cowboys CBs Trevon Diggs & Stephon Gilmore: BOTH in NFL Top 10?
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Pro Football Focus recently released their list of the top 32 cornerbacks entering the 2023 season, and both Dallas Cowboys starters appeared in the top 10. And the order in which Trevon Diggs and Stephon Gilmore checked in may surprise you.
There's no debate about how impactful Gilmore was at his peak with the New England Patriots, which is why he has a Defensive Player of the Year Award on his resume. But as he enters his age-33 season, it was a bit jarring to still see Gilmore at No. 6 on the list:
"There was a stretch where Gilmore was the best cornerback in football, and while that may be in the past now, he showed in each of his past two stops that he can still play at a very high level. For the Indianapolis Colts, Gilmore recorded an 81.1 PFF coverage grade and allowed an 82.6 passer rating from 82 targets."
After playing in just nine games for the Carolina Panthers in 2021, Gilmore rebounded nicely on a bad Colts team in 2022, recording a career-high 66 combined tackles and adding two interceptions. The Cowboys acquired Gilmore -- who is in the final year of a two-year/$20 million pact -- for a compensatory fifth-round selection in the 2023 NFL Draft back in March.
Meanwhile, Diggs has stepped out of the shadow of his older brother Stefon -- the All-Pro wide receiver for the Buffalo Bills -- with his performance over the last two seasons. Diggs himself was an All-Pro in 2021, when he led the NFC with 11 interceptions. He came back down to earth with three in 2022, but PFF opines that "he was a better overall player," while ranking him at No. 8. The Cowboys were the only team with two cornerbacks in the top 10 on PFF's preseason countdown.
It should be noted that both of these players can become free agents after the 2023 season. We mentioned Gilmore's contractual status above, but Diggs, a former second-round pick, is entering the final year of his rookie contract. Mike Fisher reported Sunday that the Cowboys and Diggs have begun extension talks. If a deal isn't reached, it feels likely that the Cowboys will use the franchise tag on Diggs next offseason. But for now? No worries, only acclaim, for what Dallas is doing at cornerback.
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