Trevon Diggs Predicts Super Bowl; 1 Cowboys 'Move' Needed?
Throwing Trevon Diggs' way in coverage is a risk for any quarterback. The Dallas Cowboys' star cornerback is such a ballhawk that he threatens to make his side of the field a no-fly zone, sometimes because he's locking down elite receivers, other times because he's playing the ball as if it's his own.
He recently predicted the Cowboys would in 2023 be Super Bowl-bound - Diggs took to Twitter simply to say, “we going to that Bowl'' - and now analysts are suggesting the one move he can engineer personally to make that happen.
Diggs' performance over the last two seasons has seen him rise up the rankings of the NFL's best cornerbacks, with some believing he's the best in the league. However, according to an ESPN poll of executives, coaches and scouts, he barely cracks the top 10 - coming in at No. 8 overall.
Why, though, is a corner of his caliber ranked so low in the top 10? Well, according to one personnel member of a fellow NFC team, that answer is quite simple.
"I think he's gotten better at gambling overall. It's still a hindrance to his game, in my opinion," an NFC personnel man said. "I think if he can be more calculated with his ways he can be viewed more like an Asante Samuel Sr."
Samuel was a ballhawk, too. He led the NFL in interceptions twice and was four times an All-Pro. Oh, and he won two Super Bowls, too, one in New England and one in Philadelphia. The personnel guy seems to be suggesting there is a compromise between Diggs' trademark aggressiveness and avoiding getting beat.
Yes, Diggs does sometimes take an aggressive risk to go for an interception that leads to the opponent making a play. In a vacuum that looks bad, but you don't play corner in a vacuum. Every corner is bound to get beat at some point. ... and as CowboysSI.com has written often, Diggs isn't "freelancing'' outside the lines of coordinator Dan Quinn's plan; his aggression is built-in.
Is there a "roster move'' that propels Dallas upward? Maybe. But more immediately, is there a "move'' that Diggs can make that causes the Cowboys defense to lift to another level? Should he be less aggressive? It comes down to this: How important are interceptions?
There are Diggs stats that will show you what a cornerback with an argument for the best in the league at his position looks like.
We saw him burst onto the scene in a big way in 2021, tallying a career and league-high 11 interceptions while also recording 21 passes defended. His interceptions dropped back to down to only three last season, with passes defended dropping down to 14 as well. But his tackling competency seemed to rise, a good thing.
Can Diggs ballhawk, and cover, and tackle? That's the move. Not a blockbuster trade, but rather, this star player coming into his own and putting together a Samuel-like resume.
There is no denying that Diggs is a top 10 cornerback in the NFL. Is No. 8 too low? Maybe. Will it matter what the critics think if Diggs' prediction comes true? It will not.
You can find Connor Zimmerlee on Twitter @Connorjz98
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