Entering the NFL Draft the Dallas Cowboys had every intention of upgrading at cornerback due to the departure of Byron Jones to the Miami Dolphins. Florida's CJ Henderson was the hot name at the position in the first round, however, he went ninth overall to the Jacksonville Jaguars. Instead, the Cowboys stole Wide Receiver CeeDee Lamb out of Oklahoma with the 17th pick in round one, but that wouldn't be the only early round surprise for the organization.
Once the second round kicked off, safeties and more wide receivers began coming off the board, but one cornerback, surprisingly, was still there for the taking. With 51st pick, the Cowboys landed Trevon Diggs out of Alabama who brings a plethora of skills to the table.
Great instincts and ball skills
Anticipation is one of the best tools to have when you're a cornerback. You must process information quickly and react accordingly. Diggs has the instincts to cut off routes and disrupt the release.
Having a background at the wide receiver position also helps Diggs out a lot. He's able to read the receiver's eyes, turn his head around, and high point the ball in the air, which is textbook technique.
Love how Diggs attacks this ball to secure the INT at the catch point. Diggs shows impressive ball skills when he can turn his head and vision the ball to the catch point. pic.twitter.com/vAqcbA6rKJ
— John Owning (@JohnOwning) April 25, 2020
Reads quarterbacks drop, physical at the line of scrimmage
To be an effective cornerback you need to be able to read the quarterback's drop and anticipate where the ball is going to be. Diggs has such good instincts that he can play off coverage and still make plays on the ball.
With his 6'1 frame and long arms, Diggs can really cause nightmares for receivers at the line of scrimmage. His ability to jab once the is ball snapped keeps receivers off balance and makes it almost impossible for a quarterback to have any success.
At 6-foot-1 with over 32-inch arms, Diggs can be a bully at the LOS in the NFL. Powerful one hand jam here to disrupt the WR at the LOS. pic.twitter.com/5ROJlAMlvg
— John Owning (@JohnOwning) April 25, 2020
Displays good discipline and patience
With offenses utilizing multiple route combinations it's easy to get fooled. Diggs is disciplined enough to remember his assignments and not be misled by anything underneath or over the top, depending on what his read is.
Receivers can only be effective if they beat cornerbacks off the line of scrimmage. Diggs has the patience to not fall for initial moves and use his hands to jam receivers and widen routes to the sidelines.
Nice rep in press-man vs a vertical route by Diggs here. Like his patience at the LOS to not bite on the inside stick. Uses an off-hand jam to widen the WR and then squeezes him to the sideline. pic.twitter.com/7kA62OWmCM
— John Owning (@JohnOwning) April 1, 2020
It's not often a team gets lucky enough to steal a premium pick like Diggs after snagging a stud like Lamb the round before. The Cowboys now have a nice four-man rotation at cornerback with Chidobe Awuzie, Jourdan Lewis, Anthony Brown, and Diggs heading into the 2020 season.
