ARLINGTON, Texas – At one point before the season began, I made a comment on our podcast, Cowboys Break, that in order for these Cowboys to take the next step as a team, a few individuals have to take a step personally.
The Cowboys had a few good players, but who on the team was really elite, other than Zack Martin? Any other guy considered a top-5 player at his position?
Well, here we are five games into the season and several guys have now jumped back into the conversation.
Of course, Martin is playing as the best guard in the league.
In my opinion, Ezekiel Elliott is rushing like a top-5 running back.
Dak Prescott is clearly a top-5 quarterback.
I would think Tyron Smith is back to his ways of being a top left tackle.
And then, there's Trevon Diggs. My Lord, this is at the "unreal" stage. I mean, we entered this season thinking Diggs was ready to take it to the next level and maybe be the best cornerback – on this team.
Without a doubt, he's the best cornerback in the NFL right now. He might even be better than that, with guys like Richard Sherman tweeting out that Diggs is the favorite to be the NFL Defensive Player of the Year.
Of course, we're still a little more than a quarter of the way through the season, but for Diggs to have six interceptions in five games is just something I've never seen before – ever.
I can't believe I'm about to say this or write this, but it's got to be true. I haven't seen a Dallas cornerback play like this since Deion Sanders, who actually never had more than five picks in a season with the Cowboys.
But it's just more than picking off passes with Diggs. What he's doing is carrying the defense because he's able to clean up any kind of mess that's out there.
When is the last time we've seen a real playmaker like this? I would say Deion but even he didn't make these plays, mainly because teams weren't throwing the ball to him as much.
And at some point, Diggs is going to stop getting the ball thrown his way. But good luck with that because that means teams will forget throwing to their top player.
I mean, think about that again: Trevon Diggs is pretty much following the No. 1 receiver on the field. Not only is he shutting him down, but he's also getting the ball as well. There was the amazing interception he made in the third quarter, but he had two others that were nearly picks as well.
I loved what head coach Mike McCarthy said about the ball being in the air, saying it's not even a "50-50 ball anymore" because Diggs is going to locate it, go get it and then pick it off.
Everyone talks about how great Diggs has been with his hands, but he's dominating the league right now with his eyes. It's the eyes that have made Diggs so great this year, baiting QBs to throw it his way and reading everything from the quarterback drop to the routes the receivers are running.
This is his second season in the league, and you can tell he's a student of the game and that he can anticipate the ball, the route and then when he's there, make the play.
One might think it's crazy to compare Diggs to a guy like Deion Sanders, but who else can it be?
And here's the kicker to it all: In 1995, Deion came to the Cowboys and pretty much shut down his side of the field. And on the other side, Larry Brown had six picks in the regular season and three more in the playoffs to win Super Bowl MVP.
All of his success, to me, was a credit to Deion locking down one side of the field.
And here we are, Trevon Diggs is making these plays and it's resulting in success on the other side. Another guy named Brown, Anthony Brown, is playing his best football as well, even picking off a pass for a touchdown himself.
But it all starts with Trevon Diggs. Just like it always did with Deion.
