Cowboys Trevon Diggs OUT of Practice (Illness), In As Elite NFL Corner

Trevon Diggs led the NFL last season with 11 interceptions, and he won't come close to that mark this year. But ...

FRISCO - The Dallas Cowboys have been known for many things this season. The injury to quarterback Dak Prescott made early headlines as most buried the Cowboys season. Then the four-game winning streak engineered by backup Cooper Rush took over social media posts and news stories.

Then, of course, the return of Prescott, and the self-inflicted so-called "quarterback controversy'' that was started by team owner Jerry Jones was widespread.

But through all the news and discussions about the offensive side of the ball, the defense has quietly carried the team to its current 8-3 record. 

One of the stars of that defense is cornerback Trevon Diggs. The former Alabama star and second-rounder put himself on the league map last year by registering a league-high 11 interceptions on a defense that led the league with 34 takeaways.

In the offseason, he set goals for himself.

"I feel like this defense can go really far," said Diggs in the first week of training camp. "I'm really excited and proud of what we did last year and I feel like that was a good start to build on. ... We've got a good base, a good ground, a good foundation and we've just got to build off that.''

But has Diggs - who missed the Wednesday workout at The Star due to illness but should be OK for Sunday night vs. the visiting Colts - been successful in his efforts to become better?

Through 11 games last season, Diggs had registered eight interceptions, including two for touchdowns. Unless he goes on somewhat of a tear, he won't come close to his totals from last year.

Does that indicate a regression? Not necessarily. 

Last year, Diggs posted a 59.6 Pro Football Focus grade. That's incredibly low for a player with 11 picks. The turnovers seemed to skew the perception of Diggs' game, as he gave up a ton of yardage between those interceptions.

The Cowboys had the 20th-ranked passing defense in the league last year, allowing 4,049 yards. Defensive coordinator Dan Quinn challenged Diggs in the offseason to polish his game and become better. Quinn believes he did just that.

"It's cool to see a player grow and say I'm not going to be known for this one thing," Quinn told the media outlet, The 33rd Team. "He's a better player at this stage this year than he was last year at this stage." 

Although his interception numbers are down, Diggs has recorded 13 pass deflections. His total for 2021 was 21, but this year it's clear offenses are not throwing his direction nearly as often as last season.

Maybe more indicative of Diggs' progress, is the fact that the Cowboys' pass defense is No. 1 in the league right now with just 1,955 yards allowed.

In Week 11, the Cowboys dismantled the Minnesota Vikings in Minneapolis, and Diggs was a big part of that, holding wideout Justin Jefferson to just two catches for 19 yards and one forced incompletion.

The result of Diggs' effort to improve himself? His PFF grade has improved to 70.8 and he's the site's No. 5 best corner.

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