Why the Slide?: Trevon Diggs, CB, Alabama
By Charlie Campbell, @draftcampbell
Six years ago, we started a series of articles on why certain prospects went undrafted. In that series, I reach out to sources with NFL teams to find out why their organizations passed on drafting a given player, and/or, what were the reasons for other teams to pass on that prospect. We got a lot of positive reader feedback about the series, so we decided to expand in the genre to investigate why some prospects slid in the draft. Four years ago, we started the Why the Slide? series, and this year it is back. Feel free to email me requests for Why the Slide? and Why Undrafted? at [email protected]. I can’t promise to get to all of them, but I will do my best and definitely will respond to the email.
Throughout the leadup to the 2020 NFL Draft, Alabama cornerback Trevon Diggs was commonly projected to go as a first-round pick. The 6-foot-1, 205-pounder has an excellent combination of size and speed plus logged some quality tape over the past two seasons at Alabama. However, he slid to the second round of the draft and other corners were surprisingly selected over him. Diggs fell all the way to the 51st pick before being drafted.
In speaking to team sources, there were medical concerns about Diggs, and some teams had red flagged the foot injury that caused him to miss a large chunk of the 2018 season. That season, Diggs was playing his best football before the foot injury ended his junior year. Some team sources also said that Diggs struggles in big games and big moments concerned them, but the medical was the biggest negative factor that caused him to slide.
The Dallas Cowboys ended Diggs fall and were a great landing spot for him to have a shot at early playing time. Veteran Byron Jones left Dallas in free agency, and that huge hole was not filled by a veteran free agent or first-round pick. That position is Diggs’ spot to lose. Coaches tend to prefer veterans in the early going, but before long, Diggs could work his way into the starting lineup for Dallas. Diggs has an excellent skill set with above average instincts to develop into a good cover corner at the pro level. In time, he could become a true No. 1 corner and has Pro Bowl ability.
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