Getty Dallas Cowboys corner Trevon Diggs reacts after making a play.
It’s clear that Dallas Cowboys corner Trevon Diggs is not a big fan of Pro Football Focus or the way they’ve analyzed his 2021 season.
It was a special year for Diggs, as the 23-year-old corner brought down 11 interceptions and took two of those picks for touchdowns. However, PFF highlighted the fact that he gave up 907 passing yards in coverage, creating a conversation over exactly how good his year was.
So, when PFF Tweeted out Madden 23’s highest-rated cornerbacks in the upcoming game, Diggs initially expressed his displeasure with a Tweet and one word: “Mid.”
The Cowboys corner doesn’t crack the Top 10, which is led by Los Angeles Rams corner Jalen Ramsey and rounded out by Atlanta Falcons corner A.J. Terrell. Diggs also followed up his post with a flurry of Tweets:
“I can work with 93 speed,” Diggs started. “anybody can play zone… Turnovers & Touchdowns… pff put out a fake stat for RT & y’all believed them.”
pff put out a fake stat for RT & y’all believed them.
Diggs’ 2021 season has clearly polarized the NFL world, as many analysts are preaching what PFF has stated, but with other die-hard fans and analysts saying Diggs’ rewards far outweighed the risks that came with playing him.
ALL the latest Dallas Cowboys news straight to your inbox! Join the Heavy on Cowboys newsletter here!
Micah Parsons Calls Out Diggs’ Critics
Earlier in July, Diggs was backed up by his young teammate and fellow All-Pro selection Micah Parsons. Parsons was a revelation in 2021 as a hybrid pass-rushing linebacker, totaling 13 sacks and forcing three fumbles.
Parsons spoke out about the criticism Diggs has faced this offseason, and he unsurprisingly doesn’t agree or like what he’s seeing.
“The guy had 11 interceptions,” Parsons said, according to USA Today. “We’ve never seen it. I’ve never even seen someone come close to that since I’ve been alive. We haven’t all seen it, and it’s a shame that it got degraded because of, they say, the yards that he gave up… Without a doubt, I thought he was the best defensive player in the league last year. We’ve seen 20 sacks before. But in this era, we’ve never seen no one reach over 10-plus interceptions, so it’s disrespectful, to me, because I think he deserves all the credit in the world and deserves to be named a top-five corner if not the best corner in the league.”
Further, the Cowboys linebacker explained that he doesn’t want Diggs to adjust his game at all to meet what people say are weaknesses. Instead, Parsons wants the former Alabama Crimson Tide star to double down on his style.
“I want Diggs to keep doubling down, to keep being him because that’s what makes him the player he is — his confidence, his willingness to go after the ball. That’s what makes him Diggs, not because he don’t give up no yards.”
Diggs’ Conflicting Stats
The yards allowed stat is the subject of Diggs’ criticism, but there are other advanced metrics that conflict with the narrative that’s arrived with it, as Pro Football Reference shows.
Diggs actually posted a better completion rating in 2022 than he did in 2021, allowing 52.4% of his targets to be caught. Further, he slashed his opposing QB rating from 85.8 in 2020 to 55.8 in 2021.
Finally, the Cowboys corner allowed four touchdowns in 2021, compared to five in 2020. The one stat that moved in a significantly wrong direction other than yards allowed was his missed tackles, as he missed 10 total in 2021 for a missed-tackle rate of 16.1%, essentially double the totals of his 2021 season.
Comments
Cowboys CB Trevon Diggs Slams ‘Fake Stat’ in Twitter Rant [LOOK]