WATCH: Cowboys' Trevon Diggs - Trashed by PFF - Gets NFL-High 11th Interception
FRISCO - We have for years poked some fun at Pro Football Focus for their fool's errand; the grandly ambitious NFL goal of grading every single player from every single team in every single game, and having the grades be balanced, logical and fair, is impossible.
And now we have the more glaring evidence as proof of our point: Cornerback Trevon Diggs.
UPDATE: First, let's reflect on what Diggs just did to open the first Washington possession on Sunday night. He tracks the ball as if it's his, never gives Terry McLaurin a shot at it, and records his 11th interception of the year.
Now, going into Sunday ...
Diggs topped the NFL with 10 interceptions, three more than anybody else. He is likely a Pro Bowl starter, probably a first-team All-Pro, and presently slated to be a finalist for NFL Defensive Player of the Year. Teams don't throw at him much, and when they do, Diggs - as a centerpiece of a Dallas Cowboys defense that is playing at as high a level as any team in the league, with four takeaways in three straight games - makes them pay.
"A true competitor,'' said Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn in praising Diggs' personality and talent. "Don’t confuse that quiet demeanor. This is a true wolf in sheep’s clothing. This guy is a rare competitor.”
But ... Pro Football Focus (PFF) is so unimpressed with the overall play from Diggs that of the 117 eligible corners, he is the 89th-ranked guy.
That's right; PFF "grades'' have 88 cornerbacks - almost three per team! - who are better than Trevon Diggs.
PFF could be leaning against Diggs because it has stats that seems to indicate a boom-or-bust element to his game; he's been targeted 88 times and allowed 51 catches (58 percent) for 899 yards (a 17.6-yard average).
But add it all up, and take into consideration "The Eye Test,'' and any knowledge of what wins games ... and this is ridiculous.
Those numbers seem to weigh considerably more in PFF's grading than his takeaways, which seems a little counterintuitive considering how costly an interception is to their quarterback grades. How can interceptions be killers for QB grades but unimportant in cornerback grades?
There are other ways to be successful at the position, of course. Take the Atlanta Falcons' A.J. Terrell for example. Terrell is PFF's No. 1 cornerback, and they are pushing him for All-Pro status - maybe because he deserves it or maybe to help validate their rankings. Terrell has only given up 23 receptions on 52 targets (44.2 percent) the entire season. And he's only allowed 150 yards on those 23 catches (a 6.5-yard average).
That's great. However, Terrell has just two interceptions on the season. And while Diggs might be the team MVP of a 10-4 Cowboys club, Terrell's impact can't overcome Atlanta's 6-8 record.
More evidence of how PFF has botched this, and we can stay in Atlanta for it: Clearly Terrell is having a terrific year, but his teammate Fabian Moreau, the other corner, has no interceptions and is allowing a 65-percent completion rate on 68 targets ... and is graded three spots higher than Diggs.
On what football planet is Fabian Moreau experiencing a better season than Trevon Diggs? How many Fabian Moreaus would Atlanta trade right now to get one Trevon Diggs?
That huge discrepancy exposes an obvious flaw in a grading system that should be used as "guidance,'' not "gospel'' ... because there is no football person in the NFL who thinks there are 88 cornerbacks better than Trevon Diggs.
And most football people would say there are zero cornerbacks better than Trevon Diggs.
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