Dallas Cowboys CB Trevon Diggs named NFC Defensive Player of the Month

A great honor for the Cowboys second-year cornerback.

Through the first three games of the 2021 season the Dallas Cowboys defense leads the NFL in takeaways. Much of the reason for Dallas’ sudden stability on defense has been the ascension of second-year cornerback Trevon Diggs. Number seven has had an interception in every game this season (already matching his rookie total which just so happened to lead the team) including one that he took to the house on Monday night against the Philadelphia Eagles.

As October football gets set to begin, the NFL is officially turning the page on the month of September and in doing so is doing a bit of housekeeping. This means that awards are being handed out and Trevon Diggs has received one. He is the NFC Defensive Player of the Month. He is the first Cowboy since DeMarcus Lawrence in September of 2017 to earn the honor and the third overall (Sean Lee won it in September of 2011 and October of 2013).

Obviously there are bigger goals that we all, Diggs included, want to see the Cowboys obtain, but this is very cool and a sign that Diggs truly is playing at a special level right now. Whether or not he can continue his interception streak remains to be seen, but he has already matched a franchise great in terms of picks in games to start a season (Everson Walls, 1985).

Diggs is beginning to play to the point where many are wondering if he is the best defensive player on the Cowboys. It is certainly fair to put a healthy DeMarcus Lawrence firmly in that conversation. Micah Parsons has wildly impressed through his first three games and is looking like a future force as well, but the answer might ultimately lie at the back end of the group in second-year cornerback Trevon Diggs.

The Talkin’ The Star crew discussed Trevon Diggs among a variety of other things in their latest episode on the Blogging The Boys podcast network. Make sure to subscribe to our network so you don’t miss any of our episodes! Apple devices can subscribe here and Spotify users can subscribe here.

Over the last decade we have all convinced ourselves that various players were the answer for the Cowboys at cornerback. Morris Claiborne and Brandon Carr were supposed to revolutionize things as a pair, Chidobe Awuzie was going to shine as an athlete, and Kris Richard was supposed to make everything that he touched turn to gold. None of that really took.

But enter Trevon Diggs. From day one he has shown enormous promise, but we are past that point. Diggs looks like a bonafide star at the cornerback spot, one who’s name can be mentioned among the very best throughout the National Football League. In fact he is tied for the best coverage grade among cornerbacks (with Marshon Lattimore from the New Orleans Saints) through the first three weeks of the season according to PFF.

It is surreal to think that Diggs has only played 15 games in his young career. His next matchup will be against the Carolina Panthers, one of the two teams that took a top cornerback in this year’s draft before the Cowboys ultimately got on the clock. Unfortunately Carolina’s first-round pick Jaycee Horn will miss this game, and some time, due to injury, but considering all other cornerbacks taken in recent history Diggs stands out above the rest.

It doesn’t totally feel this way, but there haven’t been a ton of great cornerbacks drafted at the top of the draft in recent years. BTB’s own Aidan Davis took a look at how Diggs stacks up against the most impactful corners taken over the last two years by career QBR allowed in coverage, and as you can see, Diggs stands out in a very positive way.

The fact that the Cowboys drafted Diggs after landing CeeDee Lamb last year remains glorious and unbelievable. It isn’t practical to believe that he will have an interception in every single game that he plays in the NFL, but as long as he continues to be a force on defense, things are going to continue to head in the right direction.

Congratulations to Trevon Diggs!