Cowboys cornerback Trevon Diggs is making a splash – but can he make history?
Trevon Diggs is making a name for himself as the Dallas Cowboys' new shutdown cornerback, and breaking the NFL interceptions record could be on the horizon for the sophomore cornerback.
The former Alabama standout, who was selected by Dallas 51st overall in the 2020 NFL Draft, leads the league in interceptions with six after another pick in the Cowboys' 44-20 win over the New York Giants in Week 5.
After becoming the first player in Cowboys history to record five interceptions through four games, Diggs extended his streak to six through five games. Heading into Week 6, only 12 other CBs in the league have multiple interceptions, and of those players, only Diggs and Byron Murphy Jr. (with three) have more than two.
The 24-year-old Diggs, younger brother of Buffalo Bills superstar wideout Stefon Diggs, has 12 games to get eight more picks to tie the NFL record for interceptions by a cornerback in a single season or nine more to break it.
The all-time record is held by Richard "Night Train" Lane, who logged 14 interceptions as a rookie for the Los Angeles Rams in 1952.
In the past 20 years, just eight cornerbacks hit the double-digit mark with 10 interceptions in a season, and only one did so in the past decade: Xavien Howard (2020), Antonio Cromartie ('07), Champ Bailey ('06), Asante Samuel ('06), Ty Law ('05), Deltha O'Neal ('05), Ronde Barber ('01) and Anthony Henry ('01).
Could Diggs soon be added to this list? If you ask Skip Bayless, it's certainly a possibility.
On Thursday's "Undisputed," Bayless discussed the likelihood that Diggs pulls off the feat, giving him a 40% chance of making it into the NFL record books.
"Trevon doesn't yet have an aura of invincibility because last year, he was often a liability," Bayless said. "I witnessed a similar sort of explosion into the National Football League back in 1981. There was this kid out of Grambling [State], undrafted, named Everson Walls. … He was such a liability early on … And he was so long and such a ball hog that it started to happen, and he got the Cowboy [interception] record of 11."
Skip Bayless: Trevon Diggs is playing with a swagger I haven't seen since Darrelle Revis, maybe even Prime Time I UNDISPUTED
The most recent cornerback to have 11 or more picks in a season was the 21-year-old Walls in 1981. He went on to put up league-leading interception numbers two more times ('82 and '85), making him the first of only two players ever (Ed Reed is the other) to lead the NFL in that category three times.
"I love [Diggs] because he's got receiver skills," Bayless added. "And I love him because he's starting to play with a swagger that I haven't seen since Darrelle [Revis] or maybe even back to ‘Prime Time.'"
On the other side, Bayless' cohost, Shannon Sharpe, wasn't as confident in Diggs' ability to join the likes of the all-time greats because of the simple fact that sooner or later, other teams will stop throwing the ball Diggs' way.
"A guy like Diggs, you gotta double-move him early," Sharpe said. "You gotta put him in fear because if you don't, the farther the game goes and you haven't double-moved him, he's gonna keep shrinking the field.
"Yes, he's off to an incredible start. He has great hands. … He's arguably one of the top two or three corners in all of football, [but] I don't think he's gonna get it … That's a lot of interceptions. … Anything's possible, but I'd put money that he wouldn't do it."
A few more defensive catches in the coming weeks will put Diggs further into the record books conversation considering his red-hot start.
And with the Cowboys (4-1) perched atop the NFC East, with a four-game winning streak that they hope to extend, Diggs doing what he does best could certainly help Dallas keep its momentum going in the right direction.
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