Brugler's analysis on Diggs:
4. TREVON DIGGS | Alabama 6013 | 205 lbs. | SR. Gaithersburg, Md. (Avalon) 9/20/1997 (age 22.59) #7
BACKGROUND: Trevon Diggs was a four-year varsity player in high school, logging snaps at wide receiver, defensive back and return man. He played his freshman and sophomore years at Wootton, posting 1,103 receiving yards and 13 touchdown catches in 2013. Forced to resign as Wootton’s head coach, Tyree Spinner took the head coaching job at Avalon, a Catholic, all-boys school. Along with several others, Diggs followed his coach/mentor and transferred to the private school for his final two years of high school. As a junior, he posted 78 catches for 1,008 yards and 15 touchdown grabs, earning all-metro honors. A four-star athlete recruit out of high school, Diggs started receiving FBS scholarships as a sophomore and ranked as the No. 4 athlete recruit in the country. Although most thought he was destined to follow his older brother and stay in state at Maryland, he committed to Alabama over the Terrapins. Diggs signed as an athlete and played both offense and defense as a true freshman before focusing only at cornerback his final three seasons. His older brother (Stefon) was drafted in the fifth round (No. 146 overall) of the 2015 NFL Draft by the Minnesota Vikings and recently signed a $72 million extension. His father (Aron) coached him through little league until he died of congestive heart failure (January 2008) at age 39. His mother (Stephanie) played high school and college basketball. Diggs graduated with his bachelor’s degree (December 2019). He elected to skip the bowl game and turned down his invitation to the 2020 Senior Bowl.
STRENGTHS: Tall, long corner with the strength of a safety…lower body twitch to stay composed in his movements and spring in any direction…balanced in space to stay within arm’s length of receivers, easily reacting to different routes…enough long-speed to stay attached to vertical routes…outstanding ball skills due to his handeye coordination, making athletic plays on the ball…gets his head turned and keeps an eye on the backfield to read both the man and the ball…skilled with his off hand and understands body position…uses a patient stab in press-man without sacrificing his footing…shows the play strength to shed perimeter blocks…rarely outphysicaled by receivers…competes with tremendous confidence…returned kicks and punts in college, averaging 9.2 yards per punt return (31/284/0).
WEAKNESSES: Not a technically sound player…tends to get lazy with his footwork and stance, hindering his breaks…wasn’t coached to pedal in college…prematurely opens his hips and makes it tougher on himself to shadow…handsy downfield with a bad habit of grabbing to slow routes…late to recognize route combinations…needs to improve his awareness of field landmarks (first down marker, sideline, etc.)…fast and physical downhill in run support, but often arrives too hot with wild tackling technique…missed most of his junior season due to a broken foot (October 2018), requiring season-ending surgery…missed one game as a sophomore due to a right foot injury (September 2017). SUMMARY: A two-year starter at Alabama, Diggs lined up primarily at left cornerback in Nick Saban’s press-man heavy scheme, occasionally seeing snaps vs. the slot. He was better known as Stefon Diggs’ younger brother growing up, but he grew out of his shadow and carved his own path, playing his college ball at Alabama instead of Maryland and changing his number (wears No. 7 due to Tyrann Mathieu). Diggs arrived in Tuscaloosa as a two-way player and his offensive background benefits him on defense with his ball skills and awareness for what the offense is trying to do. He will drive his NFL defensive coaches crazy with his hopping around and sporadic technique, but his read/react skills and athleticism allow him to get away with it. Overall, Diggs needs to clean up his technique and discipline in coverage to reach his full potential, but he has shown improvement in those areas and projects as an NFL starter due to his size, twitch and competitive nature.
