Getty Trevon Diggs
The best way to get over a player is to acquire another of equal measure. Such is how the Dallas Cowboys coped with the free-agent loss of Byron Jones.
By using their top pick in the 2020 NFL draft, No. 51 overall, on former Alabama cornerback Trevon Diggs. And then allowing Diggs to assume Jones’ old jersey — No. 31 — it was announced Monday.
Diggs becomes the 18th player in franchise history to don those digits, worn by Jones, the Cowboys’ former first-round pick, from 2015-19. But he wasn’t the most notable.
That would be former Cowboys defensive back Roy Williams, who wore No. 31 from 2002-07, a span of 131 games. Why most notable? In addition to being a No. 8 overall pick, Williams was a five-time Pro Bowler and former first-team All-Pro selection before ending his career with the Bengals.
Among others to drape No. 31 on their bodies: Former Cowboys DB Benny Barnes, who won a Super Bowl with the organization; quarterback Brock Marion; safety George Teague; and DBs Otto Brown and Mike Jenkins. It’s quite the group.
It’s deserved for Diggs, a four-year Crimson Tide contributor who logged 43 solo tackles, 17 pass breakups, four interceptions and a defensive touchdown across 48 career games. He broke out in 2019 with three INTs and two defensive scores (pick-six and fumble-return TD), earning first-team All-SEC honors.
The younger brother of star NFL wide receiver Stefon Diggs, Trevon is a physical specimen at 6-foot-2 with 32.75-inch arms who’s drawn comparisons to former Pro Bowl corner Aqib Talib.
Dallas made it a point to bolster its Jones-less secondary during the draft, also investing a fifth-round choice in Tulsa CB Reggie Robinson, who measures 6-foot-1, 205 pounds. Suffice it to say, the Cowboys’ coaches have a type — and they got their men.
“Really good athletes, long, the type of corners we’re looking for, big bodies that can run,” new assistant defensive backs coach Al Harris said of Diggs and Robinson, via The Athletic. “I’m a fan of the bigger guys. If you look at the receiver trends, they’re not getting smaller. They’re getting bigger and faster.”
Diggs will be a Day 1 contributor for the Cowboys, likely slotting in behind Chidobe Awuzie and ahead of Jourdan Lewis, who does his damage in the slot. The addition of Diggs pushes Anthony Brown and free-agent signee Maurice Canady down the depth chart.
It’s possible, according to head coach Mike McCarthy, that a corner among the group — he didn’t specify — could moonlight at safety, a position the Cowboys ignored in the draft, perhaps by design.
“I’m very comfortable with the flexibility we have throughout our secondary players,” McCarthy said, via The Athletic. “I’m not as caught up in traditional free safety or strong safety as some may be. What I like about our numbers in the back end is that we have great competition and excellent flexibility. We may have some players that can not only play corner but can also slide over and play some safety.”
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Rest of the Rookie Jersey Numbers
The Cowboys leaked the numbers en masse, though first-round wide receiver CeeDee Lamb and seventh-round quarterback Ben DiNucci were noticeably missing. Third-round defensive lineman will wear No. 75, Robinson took No. 41, fourth-round center Tyler Biadasz got No. 63, and fifth-round defensive end Bradlee Anae was awarded No. 51.
Lamb revealed after he was drafted that he’s “rocking No. 10 this year,” but Cowboys owner Jerry Jones interjected shortly after, indicating he prefers Lamb to wear No. 88 in honor of his late friend and former college teammate Jerry Lamb, who passed away last year.
“Just like Michael [Irvin] and Dez [Bryant] and those guys, and we’ve got us a wide receiver,” Jones said during his post-first-round conference call, via Blogging the Boys. “And let me tell you one thing: if he’s got the competitiveness and heart of that Jerry Lamb, he’ll be bad to the bone.”
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Follow Zack Kelberman on Twitter: @KelbermanNFL