Cowboys’ All-Pro Defender May Not Be As Good As You Think

Before the Dallas Cowboys had their annual early playoff collapse last season, they looked excellent for much of the regular season. In fact, they looked downright dominant at times.

That supposed dominance was especially evident on the defensive side of the football. Dallas finished fifth in both points and total yards allowed, and it held opponents to 10 or fewer points six times.

It managed to do all that despite losing star cornerback Trevor Diggs to a season-ending ACL injury in September.

However, while Diggs made the Pro Bowl in 2021 and 2022 and has been hailed as an absolute stud in the secondary, Anthony DiBona of Pro Football Network made the argument that he is actually overrated and not quite as elite as first thought.

“Although he missed most of last season due to a torn ACL, Dallas Cowboys cornerback Trevon Diggs is the most overrated player on the team,” wrote DiBona. “Many will fixate on Diggs’ interception total, but they often forget about the amount of receiving yards he allowed.

“While Diggs recorded 14 interceptions from 2021-2022, he also allowed 10 receiving touchdowns and over 1,800 yards. Diggs is still regarded as one of the top cornerbacks in the NFL, but he takes far too many risks on the field.”

Is Trevon Diggs not as good as his numbers suggest?

Diggs led the NFL in interceptions during the 2021 season with 11 of them, and that year, he also allowed a sterling 52.4 percent completion rate and 55.8 passer rating when the man he was guarding was targeted on a pass attempt. But those numbers fell significantly in 2022.

It is certainly impressive to record a large number of interceptions as a cornerback. But what matters more is playing sound defense and not letting your man beat you while running routes, even if it results in significantly fewer interceptions.

For example, Sauce Gardner of the New York Jets was named to the All-Pro First Team in both of the last two seasons. He has had a grand total of two interceptions during that time, but he has also recorded 31 passes defended and allowed a completion percentage of well under 60 percent during that span.

While Diggs was out, DaRon Bland, a second-year man who was a fifth-round draft pick, filled his spot and shined brightly. Bland has an NFL-high nine interceptions, five of which he turned into pick-sixes, and he also had 15 passes defended and yielded a very low completion percentage and passer rating when his man was being targeted.

With Stephon Gilmore, the Cowboys’ other starting corner last season, a free agent, it is time for Diggs to clean up his game if they are to finally win their first Super Bowl championship since the 1995 season.

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