Patriots rookie QB Mac Jones: āCanāt be afraidā of Cowboys star Trevon Diggs
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FRISCO, Texas ā As Troy Aikman provided color analysis for the Cowboys-Giants game last week, he drew the comparison.
Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones then dared to connect the dots in the postgame tunnel, likening second-year cornerback Trevon Diggs to Hall of Famer Deion Sanders.
Six interceptions in five games. On pace for 20 takeaways in just Year 2 of his career, after no player has intercepted more than 10 passes in a season the last 30 years.
Cowboys teammates laugh each time the next ball is picked off, asking themselves: Why are quarterbacks still throwing to Diggs?
āThereās a lot of talk about shutdown corners in our league, and Deion Sanders was the only guy I know whoās a shutout corner,ā said Aikman, Sandersā Cowboys teammate for five seasons. āHeād go weeks without even getting a ball in his vicinity. I really do believe thereās going to be a time when (Diggs will) get tested every now and then, but youāre going to be real smart with the football when you start putting it up. Especially on deep balls when you think you have a guy because heās so fast.
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āThereās going to come a time real soon where quarterbacks are just simply not going to throw the ball in his direction.ā
Through five weeks, no opponent has executed that game plan. Every team the Cowboys have faced tempts Diggs. New quarterbacks continue to join the increasingly less-exclusive club of opponents to complete a pass to him in 2021.
As the 2-3 Patriots host the 4-1 Cowboys this weekend, New England rookie quarterback Mac Jones suggested he wonāt be the first to avoid Diggs.
āYou canāt be afraid of anybody or anything like that,ā Jones told reporters. āYou just have to know where heās at because you have to respect him, respect his game, respect his knowledge.ā
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āI still havenāt proven anythingā
Diggs was an NFL rookie last season when Jones took over as Alabama starter. But the two were nonetheless Alabama teammates for three seasons, a stretch plenty long enough for Diggs to intercept Jones in practice.
āHe definitely made plays,ā Jones said of their Tuscaloosa intrasquad battles. āHeās very instinctual, very smart, fast, quick, explosive, strong.ā
Diggs echoes the praise of Jonesā high football IQ. Through five games, the 15th overall selection of the 2021 NFL draft has completed 71.1% of passes for 1,243 yards, five touchdowns and five interceptions. Three interceptions came during a 28-13 loss to the Saints in Week 3. Diggs hopes to add to that count while also expressing belief in Jonesā ability, accuracy and range. The Patriots quarterback can hit short, intermediate and deep balls, Diggs insists.
Which prompts the question: On which of those throws must Jones most carefully beware Diggsā sticky hands? His interceptions have come on a curl, an over route and a deep post; at the ballās apex and via dives; with fluidity and with bobbles. In a 44-20 win over the Giants last week, Diggsā interception was actually the third Giants pass attempt he got a hand onāand though his first two amounted to a drop and out-of-bounds ruling, Diggs and teammates fed off the electric crowd.
Jones has averaged 38 pass attempts per Patriots game, which sounds to Diggs like 38 chances to threaten. The first-year passer, however, has been cautious in his approach thus far, his 17.6% aggressiveness rating (throws into tight-window coverage) tied for fourth-lowest among all quarterbacks, according to Next Gen Stats.
Diggs said Thursday he didnāt yet know which receiving target heād match up with, third-year receiver Jakobi Meyers leading the charge with 31 catches for 302 yards but tight end Hunter Henry the only target to catch multiple touchdowns (he has two). Diggsā assignment may be less obvious than against opponents featuring a clear top threat. But Diggs doesnāt expect his role to shift the Patriotsā plan.
āI feel like teams are going to continue to try me,ā he said. āI feel like I still havenāt proven anything. I still havenāt proven nothing to myself. So I feel like teams probably feel like that too.
āTheyāre going to keep trying me and Iāve just got to keep capitalizing on the opportunities.ā
A wolf in sheepās clothing
At times, opponents capitalize instead on Diggsā aggressive tendencies. Giants rookie receiver Kadarius Toney burned Diggs on a double route for 35 yards in the third quarter last week. Chargers receiver Keenan Allen outraced Diggs down the sideline Week 2 for a 42-yard go ball. And yet, takeaways are effective at bandaging such gashes. According to Pro Football Focus, quarterbacks average a league-worst passer rating of 38.9 when targeting Diggs. Spiking the ball every play, per PFF, grades out more favorably.
Coaches and teammates credit Diggsā ball-tracking ability as a key ingredient in consistently anticipating routes. The former receiverāDiggs said this week he cried when Alabama coach Nick Saban told him to transition to defensive backāunderstands intricately route concepts and intentions, leveraging that for effective film study. He need not watch the ball to sense its presence, Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn said. The gift reminds Quinn of seven-time Pro Bowl receiver Julio Jones.
āI remember many times at practice with Julio Jones where the ball will be here and he puts his head down and starts digging again to go get it,ā said Quinn, Jonesā former head coach in Atlanta. āUsually you see a guy just running and looking at it and diving... Having those kind of ball skills where you know where it is, where to track it, where itās going to be, thatās a whole other level.
āIād love to say weāve been really coaching Trevon up on that, but that would be a lot of (expletive).ā
Diggsā instincts and makeup outside of the building have undoubtedly contributed, summer sessions with brother and Bills Pro Bowl receiver Stefon Diggs further sharpening his anticipation. The quiet-natured player is more likely to light up at 4-year-old son Aaiden than he is to bark off the field transitions to a ārare competitor,ā Quinn says, on it.
āDonāt confuse the quiet demeanor,ā Quinn said. āThis is a true wolf in sheepās clothing.ā
Wolf or sheep, Jones says he isnāt afraid of the defender come Sundayās matchup at Foxborough. Diggs prefers it that way.
āI know heās not scared of me,ā Diggs said. āHe comes from where I come from, so I know what type of person he is and what type of heart heās got. I know.
āI hope they donāt stop throwing at me.ā
Follow USA TODAY Sportsā Jori Epstein on Twitter @JoriEpstein.