'Eagles Killer' Trevon Diggs Will Be Difficult Test
Dallas cornerback Trevon Diggs has played 33 NFL games and has 16 career interceptions.
Four of those have come against the Eagles, including a pick-six just over a year ago when the Cowboys ran Philadelphia out of AT&T Stadium, 41-21, in just the third game of the Nick Sirianni-Jalen Hurts era.
Quite simply, the third-year cornerback out of Alabama, who is the younger brother of Buffalo star receiver Stefon Diggs, is the biggest back-seven playmaker in the NFL.
Diggs’ 11 interceptions in 2021 were the most in the league in 40 years, since another Cowboys CB, Everson Walls, had 11 in 1981.
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Diggs had six after five games last year, but just two this season at the same point. Still, the Eagles are going to be aware of where No. 7 is lined up at all times.
“We were upstairs talking about it just now,” Sirianni said when asked about Diggs by SI Eagles Today. “You have got to be alert for where [Cowboys LB Micah] Parsons is, you have got to be alert for where [Cowboys DE Demarcus] Lawrence is and you have to be alert for where [Diggs] is.
“I was with [Cowboys S] Malik Hooker in Indy and he has got great ball skills. You have got to be alert where he is because he can turn the ball over.”
The big-play Dallas defense is ranked No. 7 overall and seventh in pass defense which has translated into an even better number when it comes to points-per-game where the Cowboys have allowed just 14.4 per contest, good for third in the NFL.
The unit is also second in red-zone defense and No. 2 in turnover differential at plus-5 behind only the Eagles, who sit at a gaudy plus-9.
Something has to give on Sunday night at Lincoln Financial Field when the Eagles’ second-ranked offense tries to be the first team this season to score more than 19 points in a game against Dallas.
“As far as Diggs goes, you've just got to be alert, he housed once against us last year in the first game, so you’ve got to be alert for where he is and understand the routes that you have on against him,” Sirianni said. “He's a really good playmaker.”
In Diggs’ rookie season of 2020, he had two interceptions and four passes defended game against the Eagles.
“Diggs is a great player,” Hurts said. “He’s always been a really good player. Offensively, defensively, he has really good instincts. And he’s fast and flies to the ball as well. So, definitely, a guy that you’re aware about.”
In short, the ex-college teammate of Hurts at Alabama has been an Eagles’ killer.
“Diggs is a receiver at heart,” Eagles receiver A.J. Brown said. “He played receiver. He was in my class. He attacks the ball like a receiver, so I know I gotta go get everything. I gotta be aggressive. I got a lot of respect for him. He’s doing a great job at the cornerback position.”
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There is a double-edged sword to Diggs’ game, though.
To make as many plays as he does, you have to take chances.
“The guy that he reminds me of just because being in the division, you think about all the guys you play, he reminds me of a [Ravens CB] Marcus Peters type,” Sirianni said.
“... So if you make a mistake, he'll make you pay, and that's the sign of a good corner. He'll make you pay if you make a mistake”
-John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's Eagles Today and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Media. You can listen to John, alongside legendary sports-talk host Jody every morning from 8-10 on ‘Birds 365,” streaming live on YouTube. John is also the host of his own show "Extending the Play" on AM1490 in South Jersey. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen
