Dallas Cowboys CB Trevon Diggs has taken the NFL by storm this season with six interceptions in his first five games of the season. With his sixth interception on Sunday against the New York Giants, Diggs, per Dallas Cowboys PR, became the second player in team history to record an interception in each of the first five games, joining Don Bishop in 1961.
NFL on Fox analyst and former three-time Super Bowl champion with the Cowboys Troy Aikman said of Diggs’ latest interception of Giants QB Mike Glennon, “It’s very Deion Sanders-like.”
Aikman is not the first, nor will he be the last this season to compare the former Alabama product to the great Deion Sanders. Diggs’ tremendous ball skills, high football IQ, and incredible production have the cornerback on the shortlist for NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year candidates through five weeks of the season.
The last cornerback to win the NFL’s DPOY was former New England Patriot and current Carolina Panther CB Stephon Gilmore back in 2019. By virtue of his NFC Defensive Player of the Month win for the month of September, Diggs finds himself firmly in the conversation as one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL.
He followed up his NFC DPOM win by being named NFC Defensive Player of the Week after his two-interception performance against the Carolina Panthers.
Diggs’ exploits have his peers around the league in awe of his weekly performances, as he is only seemingly scratching the surface of his talents.
The second-year corner is looking to do something that has only been done once in the storied history of the Dallas Cowboys, win NFL Defensive Player of The Year.
Harvey Martin, back in 1977, is the only Cowboy in franchise history to have won the AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year. Diggs, this season, could join Martin as the only Cowboys to win the prestigious award. His dominance through the first five weeks of the season is underscored by the fact that Diggs has more interceptions (6) than 27 teams in the NFL!
Per Next Gen Stats, Diggs allowed -4.2 EPA when targeted as the nearest defender on Sunday against the Giants. After the win against the Giants Diggs said: “This year, I’m focused on making all of those opportunities count. Any time I touch the ball, I want an interception.”
Diggs is certainly making the most of his opportunities and former All-Pros like current Tampa Bay Buccaneers CB Richard Sherman are taking notice as Sherman tweeted on Sunday: “Bro @TrevonDiggs is DPOY right now! Keep eating!”
What remains to be seen is if teams will continue to test Diggs on a week-in, week-out basis for him to continuing piling up the interception numbers. If teams do not shy away from him, Diggs could well be on his way to making history.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones on 105.3 The Fan with Shan & RJ on Tuesday said of Diggs ability: "[Diggs] has that antenna up. He has a great inner clock & a great skill that the ball is his. That’s a receiver skill. He exhibits that & is getting more confidence in his ability to pull those plays off. So, look out."
High praise from Jones for Diggs a former WR turned CB at the suggestion of Nick Saban. Trevon Diggs may be a lock for DPOY and he isn’t slowing down any time soon.
