The cornerback position is widely recognized as the hardest to transition from college to the professional level. When the Dallas Cowboys drafted Trevon Diggs with the 51st overall pick in the second round, he was set to take over as the team's top corner due to the departure of Byron Jones.
As expected, he's had his share of struggles going up against some of the league's best wide receivers like Julio Jones, Deandre Hopkins, and Odell Beckham Jr to name a few. Over the first seven games, Diggs allowed 437 yards and three touchdowns on just 26 completions, and quarterbacks had a 112.9 rating when targeting him according to Pro Football Focus.
However, Diggs has continued to show why he was one of the best at his position coming out of Alabama.
Diggs is coming off of his best game as a pro vs the Philadelphia Eagles last Sunday. Just before the two-minute warning in the first half, Diggs made an amazing interception in the right corner of the endzone by getting one knee down before sliding out of bounds. Early in the third quarter, Diggs picked off Carson Wentz again by making a tough over the shoulder catch near the goal line and returned it to the 31.
First career INT for the rookie 👏 @TrevonDiggs
📺 #DALvsPHI on @NFLonNBC pic.twitter.com/Z5aTyQl8ek
— Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) November 2, 2020
Carson Wentz is 2/2 targeting Trevon Diggs! pic.twitter.com/dXWBnhInLs
— PFF (@PFF) November 2, 2020
After only two passes defended in the first four games, Diggs has eight in the last four, including four against the Eagles. That ball-hawking ability can be attributed to his days playing wide receiver at Alabama. As a freshman in 2016, he caught 11 passes for 88 yards and a touchdown.
When speaking to the media on Wednesday, Diggs talked about his growth on the field over his first eight games in the NFL.
“Everything is starting to come together the more repetitions that I'm getting,” Diggs said. “I'm getting familiar with the rosters and things like that and the game speed. I'm getting better every game and trying to improve every game and learn from my mistakes, and try not to make the same mistakes and just keep fighting.”
Diggs is also focusing more on continuing to grow as a player instead of praising his successes.
“I like to watch the mistakes and I like to watch the things that I do wrong,” Diggs said. “Make a play on the ball, catching an interception is great but they're things that I need to work on to get better. I'm looking forward to getting better every day. When I go out to practice I want to work on something.
“It's good and all, and I caught an interception but I'm looking for things to get better.”
No matter how much Diggs improves he's still a rookie so mistakes here and there will happen. However, the arrow is steadily trending upward as he continues to make his mark on the Cowboys secondary.
