Cowboys Round 2 (51) Selection - Trevon Diggs, CB, Alabama

Cotton

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What Alabama CB Trevon Diggs will bring to the Dallas Cowboys


By Aaron Suttles Apr 24, 2020

NFL pedigree runs in Trevon Diggs’ family. His brother Stefon is now a wide receiver for the Buffalo Bills. It’s little brother’s turn now.

After proving what he’s capable of doing in Nick Saban’s secondary at Alabama, the youngest Diggs brother is anxious to show big brother he’s a professional athlete, too.

Diggs is going to get that chance after being chosen with the 51st overall pick by the Cowboys in the second round of the NFL Draft on Friday.

With Diggs, Dallas gets a talented athlete who has a high ceiling at cornerback and kick/punt return experience.

At 6-foot-1 and 205 pounds, Diggs has good size and length (a 78 3/8-inch wingspan) that should translate well to the NFL. But he’s a bit of project, too. Not that he’s not talented, because he is. It’s just that he came to Alabama as an athlete and started as a wide receiver before eventually landing at cornerback. His experience at corner isn’t as in-depth as other prospects.

He’s not as natural as other corners in the draft, but his athletic ability and size make him a tantalizing prospect if he hones his craft and continues to grow. His size and strength can make him a tough matchup for wide receivers.

As a junior, he missed most of the season with a foot injury. But he intercepted three passes his senior season, when he started all 12 regular-season games, missing only the Citrus Bowl against Michigan. According to Sports Info Solutions, he allowed only 15 completions on 49 targets in 2019, and he led the SEC in quarterback rating allowed.

Diggs isn’t a fully formed prospect, but he’s shown plenty of promise.

“We continue to focus on him playing with eye control and discipline, and when he does that, he’s a really, really effective player,” Saban said last season. “And he’s done it more often this year than ever before, and I think that’s created a lot of value for him. Hopefully, we can continue to get him to do it and he’ll be even better the rest of the way.”

That Diggs has put himself in this position based largely on his athletic ability means there’s room for growth as his technique continues to improve. That’s dependent on how much he puts into it.

His time spent on offense has paid dividends for him, as he’s comfortable making plays on the ball when it’s in the air. That hand-eye coordination will serve him well with the Cowboys. He also averaged 9.2 yards per punt return.

“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,” The Athletic’s Dane Brugler said. “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.”
 

Cotton

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Cowboysrock55

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Yeah that's pretty damn impressive. I think people get too caught up in technique sometimes. It's like a QB with an awkward delivery or bad footwork who still plays stellar. Does it really matter in the end if the results are good?
 

boozeman

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Have faith, young padawan. For the better our defensive philosophy has changed.
Nolan has to prove it though. His previous stops he had some competent defenses and others were just mediocre to bad.
 
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