This time last offseason, Dallas Cowboys fans were riding high with enormous expectations from the secondary. Training camp began with a new face on the boundary. Somehow, some way, the Cowboys front office found a way to acquire a former All-Pro and Defensive Player of the Year in exchange for just a 5th round pick.
That player was Stephon Gilmore, and he was teaming up with Trevon Diggs, the 2022 NFL interceptions leader (11) and the player with the most interceptions since 2021 (17).
Unfortunately, disaster struck during a week 3 practice when Diggs landed awkwardly after leaping with the wide receiver to deflect a pass.
MRI results would confirm a torn ACL, ending his season after it had just begun. That was 11 months ago.
Now, nearly a full calendar year later, Trevon Diggs has been removed from the PUP (Physically Unable to Perform) list, and has been cleared to practice. Even though he’s been cleared, the Cowboys plan to continue the slow play, easing him into team workouts.
Diggs was seen off to the side during the team portion of practice, working on individual drills.
Nobody is happier than Assistant Head Coach and Defensive Passing Game Coordinator, Al Harris, who has worked closely with Diggs since he was drafted in the 2nd round of the 2020 NFL Draft.
Under Harris’ tutelage, Trevon Diggs has become one of the premier playmakers in the NFL on the defensive side of the football. His resume speaks for itself.
Rookie Growing Pains
Despite missing four games with an injury, Trevon Diggs was able to play 90% of the defensive snaps during his rookie season. He snagged three interceptions, showing he has the ability to change the game if he puts himself in position to make the play.
Cowboys fans will be happy to know that all three of his interceptions came from the arm of Philadelphia Eagles quarterbacks.
Diggs even snagged two interceptions in his first ever game at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. Eagles QB Carson Wentz tested Diggs twice, and paid the price on those throws.
With Dak Prescott out for the season, the defense needed to step up to help the offense and Diggs answered the call.
His third interception came later in the season in a 37-17 win over the Eagles at AT&T Stadium, and marked his first, but not last, interception of QB Jalen Hurts.
Trevon Diggs’ All-Pro Sophomore Season
Diggs’ second season started better than anyone could have imagined. In a league where the sophomore slump is a real thing, he destroyed that narrative with seven interceptions (two returned for touchdowns) in the first six games.
It resulted in Diggs leading the entire league in interceptions (11) and the most interceptions in a single season since another Cowboys player, Everson Walls, had the same number in 1981.
After recording seven interceptions in the first six games, Diggs began to receive the shutdown cornerback treatment.
The rate of targets in his direction plummeted, yet he was still able to grab another four interceptions in the final 10 games. Diggs may not see another season like 2021, but he proved he was not a player to be tested on the outside.
The Cowboys haven’t had a cornerback shut down one entire half of the field since Deion Sanders in the late 1990s.
Back Down to Earth
Trevon Diggs saved his best play during his third season when it was needed the most. QB Dak Prescott was lost to a thumb injury that would eventually cause him to miss the following five games.
Backup QB Cooper Rush took the reins, and with the support of Diggs and the rest of the defense, surprised everyone by posting a 4-1 record in Prescott’s absence.
Diggs and his defensive teammates stifled explosive offenses led by Joe Burrow and Matthew Stafford. Two of his three interceptions during the 2022 season came in this five-game span, and his third came against Detroit in Prescott’s first game back after injury.
He continued to play well even though quarterbacks did their best to avoid his side of the field. In the remaining 9 games, teams targeted him more than six times in a single game just once, and that was a pass-happy Jaguars offense that took the Cowboys to overtime.
Trevon Diggs played just two games before suffering his injury last season and recorded an interception while in coverage versus the New York Jets.
That was our last glimpse of him on the field, and fingers crossed we get the same version of him once he is completely cleared for team practices.
