Between genius and madness: Trevon Diggs of the Dallas Cowboys is the man for the big plays. Often in the sense of his team. But not always.

Munich/Dallas – There are many top cornerbacks who are hardly noticed by the public.

They cover the opposing pass receiver so well that he is not even thrown to. The result: no interception, no tackle, no touchdown allowed. Pass defenders of this ilk often don’t show up in the highlights.

And there’s Trevon Diggs. A cornerback who practically always has something going on. It feels like he’s making big play after big play – for better or for worse.

Eight interceptions, two of them for touchdowns

The 23-year-old from the Dallas Cowboys has already caught eight interceptions this season, returning the intercepted balls for a total of 142 yards and two touchdowns. All of these are by far the best values in the NFL.

Does that make Diggs a candidate for Defensive Player of the Year?

Sam Monson, one of Pro Football Focus’ leading football analysts, doubts it. “Interceptions are not a good way to measure a cornerback’s performance,” he tells “nfl.com.” “You’d have to ignore a lot of bad to see Diggs as a Defensive Player of the Year candidate. “

The downside: no other player allows as many yards

There’s a downside to Diggs’ style of play: If he doesn’t catch an interception, he’s in completely bad position at times. He has already allowed 458 yards through the air this season. That, too, is an NFL record.

“I’ve seen some people refer to Diggs as the Jameis Winston of cornerbacks,” Monson says.

By way of explanation, quarterback Winston, who has since signed with the New Orleans Saints, was notable for years for regularly alternating touchdown passes and interceptions. His style of play moved between genius and madness – just like Diggs’.

Perhaps spectacular plays simply run in the Diggs family. Trevon’s older brother Stefon is a wide receiver for the Buffalo Bills and has caught passes for more than 1,000 yards in each of the past three seasons. Last season, he even matched a career-best with 1,535 receiving yards.

Past as a wide receiver

His brother Trevon, five years younger, also has a past as a pass receiver. Not only in high school, but in his first college season with the Alabama Crimson Tide, he was a parallel defensive back, return specialist and wide receiver.

When head coach Nick Saban told him he would only be lined up as a cornerback in the future, it didn’t sit well with Diggs. “To be honest, I was pretty hurt,” he told a press conference. “I called my brother right after and cried.”

But there is no room for self-pity in the Diggs family. Stefon advised his younger brother to work hard on himself to really take off as a cornerback. “That’s exactly what I did. I soaked it all up and worked hard. Today, I’m grateful to Saban,” Diggs says.

He also benefits from his experience on offence. “As a former wide receiver, I know all the routes. That makes things a lot easier. I can recognise things like that. It’s not foreign to me. I know exactly what’s going to happen.”

Head coach Mike McCarthy also attributes Diggs’ interceptions to his past as a pass receiver. If a ball is thrown where the odds are “50-50 for wide receiver and cornerback, it’s not 50-50 if Diggs is involved.” Because of his catching ability, he often has an advantage, he said.

Offense and Defense? Diggs would be deployable like Deion Sanders

For a short time, the Cowboys even considered using the second-round pick of the 2020 NFL Draft in parallel on offense and defense. “He could be a Deion-type player,” says Stephen Jones, the Cowboys’ director of player personnel.

He’s alluding to Cowboys icon Deion Sanders, considered one of the best cornerbacks in history, who was also a parallel pass receiver and totaled 475 receiving yards in his best season.

The idea of trying to do the same with Diggs was quickly dismissed because of the well-stocked receiver corps. “But it’s obvious he would have good genes to do that because his brother is one of the best receivers in the league. He certainly has similar ball skills as a wide receiver.”

That’s another reason Diggs will probably never be one of those cornerbacks the public barely notices.