If you have been following me for awhile, you know I was skeptical of the Trevon Diggs pick. That was due more so to the fact that he was a year away from having a significant impact.. You know the saying one is chance, two is coincidence and three is a pattern…well what is 4, a trend? We are currently through 4 games he currently leads the NFL in interceptions with 5.
I wanted to take a look into Trevon Diggs performance over the first 4 weeks of the 2021 season and compare it to the first 4 games of his 2020 season and see just how much he improved. So i have gone back and charted Diggs in all his coverage snaps from those 8 games. It is simple, I identified the coverage he was in and the reps are notated as reps won/reps lost. targets, INTs, and PBUs will also be listed when relevant. Any play call like screens or dump off passes will be notated as well.
Let’s start by taking a look at the first 4 games of the 2020 season. PFF has him listed at 30 targets with 20 receptions allowed for 277 yards and 2 TDs, he also had 3 PBU’s during this stretch. Now you can expect NFL offensive coordinators to want to pick on rookie CB’s to test them out, but lets dive into his technique and see how he played.
WEEK 1 vs. LA RAMS
By my personal tracking I have Diggs at:
22/22 in off man coverage reps, 0 catches on 0 targets 1 PBU (that was originally tipped at the LOS) there were 3 attempted screens when he was in off man.
6/6 in zone coverage 0 catches on 0 targets and there was 1 screen thrown while he was in zone.
3/6 in press man coverage 3 catches on 3 targets
PFF has the same.
TOTAL: 3 catches for 63 yards 0 TDs, 0 INTs.
You can see Diggs has a little trouble with route recognition as his flips outside on a stop. Well run route by the WR to push Diggs onto his heels before making his cut.
Here Diggs just loses a step during the routes stem.
Here he flips his hips the wrong way. Again another well run route.
Diggs stays in phase well here, just the WR boxes him out.
Diggs is in trail here, and just over pursues on the WR when he makes his break.
WEEK 2 vs. ATLANTA FALCONS
In my personal tracking of Diggs in week 2 I have him at:
20/23 in off man coverage, 4 targets, 3 catches (there was 1 screen and 1 dump off pass) 1 PBU
14/15 in zone coverage 2 targets, 1 PBU, 1 catch allowed, he was also beat by Julio but he dropped the TD.
5/7 in press man coverage, 1 target (got called for PI)
PFF has the same.
In total 4 catches for 60 yards 0 TDs, 1 PBU, 0 INTS.
Diggs is in press here, gets beat off the LOS and gets called for the holding as he hooked Julio.
Diggs is in off man, WR presses him on his heels and gets him to commit to the go route before breaking off his route. Well run route by the WR.
Here Julio beat Diggs off the LOS when he was in press and just never let up the step he had on him, should have been a TD.
Here Diggs is in off man has a subtle bite on the double move but the ball is in the air long enough for him to recover and make the PBU.
WEEK 3 vs. SEATTLE SEAHAWKS
This was Diggs worst game of the 4 game stretch.
In my personal tracking of Diggs I have him at
in off man coverage 19/22, 4 targets, 3 catches (1 play was a screen) 1 PBU
in press man coverage 4/4 1 target, 0 receptions
in zone coverage 24/27, 3 targets, 3 catches (there was a deep pass to Metcalf where Diggs was in zone (I say the safeties were assigned this but idk for sure) Metcalf caught it but Diggs caught up with him and punched the ball out before Metcalf crossed the end zone.
Pff has Diggs targeted 11 times allowed 8 receptions, 2 TDs and he had 2 PBUs. ( there were 2 catches in his general area when he was in zone that I attributed to the fault of Jaylon Smith’s lack of depth).
WEEK 4 vs. CLEVLAND BROWNS
In my personal tracking of Diggs in week 4 i have him at
4/4 in press man 0 targets 0 receptions
12/15 in off man coverage 6 targets, 3 receptions
11/13 in zone coverage 2 targets, 2 receptions
PFF has him at 8 total targets for 5 receptions, the a22 didn’t get ordered properly in gamepass and had the Browns kneeling the ball with 10 minutes left in the 4th so maybe they missed some plays, I don’t really know.
Some interesting notes about Diggs in his 1st season.
1) He didn’t travel.
2) He rotated sides and outside/nickel.
3) He consistently gave a 7-10yard cushion in off man.
4) He struggled with recognizing some route concepts.
5) He got better as the season went on in press coverage.
Now this season through 4 games he has been targeted 28 times, allowing 14 receptions for 160 yards 0 TDs, and has 5 INTs and 3 PBUs. He has been targeted about the same but, has allowed 6 less receptions, nearly 100 yards less and not allowed any touchdowns; not to mention the interception jump. On paper it looks like he has had quite the improvement, but lets dive into the film.
WEEK 1 vs. TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS
In my personal tracking of Diggs I have him at
21/21 in press man 0 targets 0 receptions 2 screens were thrown, 1 INT off a dump off pass, 1 PBU
16/17 in off man coverage 2 targets, 1 reception, 2 screens were thrown while he was in this coverage.
13/14 in zone coverage 1 target, 1 reception (kind of looked more like it was Jaylon’s zone but it doesn’t really matter)
PFF has Diggs listed with 2 more targets than I do, but still only 1 reception for 10 yards
Diggs is now traveling with WR as opposed to year 1, he is disguising coverages (shows man pre snap and switches to zone or vice versa), Recognizes when to pass off receivers better, and recognizes when to come off his assignment as you’ll see below
WEEK 2 vs. LA CHARGERS
In my personal tracking of Diggs I have him at
13/14 in press man coverage, 2 targets, 1 reception, 1 INT
15/17 in off man coverage 2 targets, 2 receptions. There was 1 dump off pass
15/19 in zone coverage, 4 targets, 4 receptions. There was 1 was a dump off pass
In total I have him at 8 targets, 7 receptions. PFF has him at 9 targets for 6 receptions, so 1 more target and 1 less reception. (there was a couple good play designs by the Chargers that left me wondering if it was Diggs’ responsibility).
Here is the Diggs INT, he is in trail, recognizes the route concept and ends up undercutting the route after getting his eyes back on the QB.
Diggs is now still traveling, disguising coverages and recognizing route concepts quicker.
It leaves me curious as to why the drastic decrease in press snaps, but that could be due to the type of receiver Diggs was lined up against. In the 1st game he was traveling with a bigger bodied receiver in Evans, in the 2nd game he was traveling against a much shiftier receiver ( and expert release package) in Keenan Allen.
WEEK 3 vs. PHILADELPHIA EAGLES
In my personal tracking of Diggs I have him at
10/10 in press man coverage, 0 targets, 0 receptions, 2 screens were thrown while he was in this coverage.
22/25 in off man coverage, 5 targets, 3 receptions, 1 INT, 1 PBU, 1 screen was thrown while he was in this coverage.
12/12 in zone coverage, 1 target, 0 receptions, 1 PBU, 2 screens were thrown and 1 dump off pass was thrown while he was in this coverage.
So in total he was targeted 6 times and allowed 3 receptions, PFF has the same 6 targets, 3 receptions, 47 yards allowed.
Philadelphia was targeting Diggs on crossers in the 1st half but stopped in the 2nd. He traveled some but more often than not he was posted up on the right side of the field. A good number of the zone reps came in garbage time.
Here are the three reps that stood out in the game.
Diggs is on off man, keeps his eyes on the QB as he gave the WR a safe cushion, sees the QB start his throwing motion and his eyes, he breaks on the ball, gets the pick and houses it for 6.
Diggs is in off man, gives a very safe cushion, sees the WR make his break and he charges downfield. Arrives just in time to make the PBU.
Here is one of the times Diggs traveled. Here he is in trail, recognizes the route concept and undercuts the route, and flashes his length on the PBU.
WEEK 4 vs. CAROLINA PANTHERS
In my personal tracking of Diggs I have him at
10/13 in press man coverage, 3 targets, 2 receptions, 1 INT (1 reception was a rub route, good play design by Carolina).
4/6 in off man coverage, 3 targets 2 receptions, 1 INT (1 I attribute to good play design by the Panthers).
10/10 in zone coverage, 1 target, 0 receptions, 1 INT
PFF has him listed at 8 targets, 4 receptions, 82 yards. I have him listed with 1 less, could be an error in zone responsibility on my part, not sure.
Here is the INT in zone coverage, he stays disciplined with his eyes and undercuts the route.
Here he is in off man, recognizes the route concept and jumps it for the INT.
Diggs was following Moore for most of the game, he continues to disguise coverage. Clearly loves being in trail so he can undercut the route.
Some notes about Diggs through 4 games of 2021
1) He is traveling for the most part
2) His route recognition has improved
3) The team trusts him in press A LOT more
4) The team is still weary of him vs shifty more route technician type of receivers.
5) Has Dan Quinn changed his scheme?
Under new DC Dan Quinn, Diggs is having a breakout year. It seems like Quinn’s patented cover 3 scheme is working its wonders. Or has he changed his scheme? If my charting is correct, Dallas has been in press man for 58 pass coverage reps while Diggs is on the field, as opposed to 55 reps for zone this season. Has he always mixed this much press man into his scheme, or is he adapting?
As you can see Trevon Diggs is much improved. What do you attribute it to? Refined technique? Route recognition? More experience as a former WR? New DC? The number change? I tend to believe all play a factor. If he keeps this play up what is his ceiling? All Pro? Pro Bowl? Let me know @DiabeticTyler on twitter what you think!