What if we drafted Travon Diggs at 17?

Kaiser said:

These are the draft writeups on each player’s weakness from either Dan Brugler or NFL.com


Trevon Diggs from Brugler:


STRENGTHS: Tall, long corner with the strength of a safety…lower body twitch to stay composed in his movements and spring in any direction…balanced in space to stay within arm’s length of receivers, easily reacting to different routes…enough long-speed to stay attached to vertical routes…outstanding ball skills due to his hand-eye coordination, making athletic plays on the ball…gets his head turned and keeps an eye on the backfield to read both the man and the ball…skilled with his off hand and understands body position…uses a patient stab in press-man without sacrificing his footing…shows the play strength to shed perimeter blocks…rarely out-physicaled by receivers…competes with tremendous confidence…returned kicks and punts in college, averaging 9.2 yards per punt return (31/284/0).


WEAKNESSES: Not a technically sound player…tends to get lazy with his footwork and stance, hindering his breaks…wasn’t coached to pedal in college…prematurely opens his hips and makes it tougher on himself to shadow…handsy downfield with a bad habit of grabbing to slow routes…late to recognize route combinations…needs to improve his awareness of field landmarks (first down marker, sideline, etc.)…fast and physical downhill in run support, but often arrives too hot with wild tackling technique…missed most of his junior season due to a broken foot (October 2018), requiring season-ending surgery…missed one game as a sophomore due to a right foot injury (September 2017).


SUMMARY: A two-year starter at Alabama, Diggs lined up primarily at left cornerback in Nick Saban’s press-man heavy scheme, occasionally seeing snaps vs. the slot. He was better known as Stefon Diggs’ younger brother growing up, but he grew out of his shadow and carved his own path, playing his college ball at Alabama instead of Maryland and changing his number (wears No. 7 due to Tyrann Mathieu). Diggs arrived in Tuscaloosa as a two-way player and his offensive background benefits him on defense with his ball skills and awareness for what the offense is trying to do. He will drive his NFL defensive coaches crazy with his hopping around and sporadic technique, but his read/react skills and athleticism allow him to get away with it. Overall, Diggs needs to clean up his technique and discipline in coverage to reach his full potential, but he has shown improvement in those areas and projects as an NFL starter due to his size, twitch and competitive nature.





Zack Martin:


WEAKNESSES: Ordinary body style with average-at-best arm length – not physically impressive or imposing…only average lateral shuffle quickness and will struggle with edge speed…can be too much of a waist bender at times and allows his momentum to lean forward too much – appears much more comfortable in tighter quarters…still improving his pre-snap awareness to recognize extra pressure and make the proper adjustment…has never started inside with all of his experience coming on the edges at tackle.




DLaw:


WEAKNESSES: Narrow trunk and lacks elite size and muscle build for the position…needs to improve his POA strength when rushers get into his body, struggling to shed with an undeveloped anchor – can be controlled by single blockers at times…long speed is adequate at best…limited experience in coverage and needs to improve his body positioning and patience when asked to drop vs. the pass…work habits and overall character and maturity have been questioned – served three separate one-game suspensions (Oct. 2012 vs. UNLV, Dec. 2012 vs. Washington, Sept. 2013 vs. UT-Martin) for “violation of team rules” incidents.




Vander Esch from NFL.com


Has just one year of starting experience

Still filling out his frame

Has some struggles in taking on blocks and will get washed away by down blocks

Hasn't learned to use hands effectively to punch and separate

At times, will over pursue or run himself out of position in attempt to play fast and avoid having to deal with blockers

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rocyaice said:

How do you come to that to that conclusion? You may have argument for the later picks but Lamb was destined to fall. Its just how the cheats fell. It happens every draft. One guy drops and you wonder why in that 1st round.

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speedkilz88 said:

I think I've heard it both on 105.3 the fan and someone like Bobby Belt or the Ocho guy on BTB.

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Kaiser said:

I can't make that connection, but I think the lockdown likely did work in our favor with players like Robinson and Gallimore. Those two could have been late risers on the board in normal times, but Dallas had strong ties with their college coaches and could have gotten them them later than they would have normally.

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baltcowboy said:

You don’t think CeeDee would not have impressed working out in Philadelphia or Denver?

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Kaiser said:

Lamb was a top ten pick on almost every draft board, did those teams really need to be convinced of that?

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baltcowboy said:

You can’t predict what happens when you do individual workouts with teams and your coaches see you face to face. For example when Flacco was the Ravens quarterback, Torrey Smith visited the Ravens and Flacco happened to be in the building at that time. Flacco threw some passes to him on the practice field. The Ravens said they drafted Smith because Flacco liked what he saw. Imagine if Wince threw some balls to CeeDee, the Eagles would haven given up that 2nd.

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Kaiser said:

Lamb was a top ten pick on almost every draft board, did those teams really need to be convinced of that?

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Kaiser said:

We clearly won the lottery with the CeeDee Lamb pick and the scenario the team was hoping for going in was K’Lavon Chaisson dropping to our pick at 17. But if both were off the board there were comments from the team that they were considering Trevon Diggs at that spot. Dallas clearly had a higher grade on Diggs and was thrilled he dropped to 50. But if he had been the pick at 17, would he still have been a good pick?

Look at the recent drafts. Dane Brugler had Diggs rated as a late first who would have been somewhat of a reach to take at 17. But if you look at the Dallas first round and very high second round picks, 5 out of 7 picks they have made in the last seven drafts were somewhat of a reach also – but made the Pro Bowl and were clearly worth a higher draft position. (The other two are Zack Martin and Taco Charlton).

I’ll copy some of the draft profiles below, all these players had warts or weaknesses that made the media question the Dallas pick to some degree.


2018: LVE – One year starter who didn’t take on blocks well. Considered a mild reach at the time.


2016 and 2017: Jaylon Smith (a gamble who recovered from knee surgery) and Taco Charlton (who developed Late Onset *******edness)


2015: Byron Jones didn’t have an athletic frame or top timed speed, he didn’t get a Senior Bowl invite. Mild reach at the time.


2014: Zack Martin was picked right at his expected spot, but was still considered an average athlete


2014: DLaw – Mild reach, lacked an athletic build and had questionable maturity. A lot of Dallas fans hated trading up for him (including me).


2013: Frederick – Ran a sundial 40 and most draft reports criticized the pick, though he went to 5 Pro Bowls and would obviously go much higher in a redraft. Dallas got crucified for taking him in a trade down instead of Sherrif Floyd, who washed out of the NFL after 24 starts in 4 seasons.


Going off recent history and Dallas scouting, Diggs would still have been a good pick if taken at 17.

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Cowboyny said:

-Really wanted the team to trade up for Donald, although Martin has been a home run selection.

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Red Dragon said:

Diggs at 17 would have been a reach. It would have been Taco Charlton Syndrome all over again.

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Oneiros said:

That's a little harsh considering Diggs actually has a work ethic and actually wants to play.

Taco.. not so much.

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Kaiser said:

We clearly won the lottery with the CeeDee Lamb pick and the scenario the team was hoping for going in was K’Lavon Chaisson dropping to our pick at 17. But if both were off the board there were comments from the team that they were considering Trevon Diggs at that spot. Dallas clearly had a higher grade on Diggs and was thrilled he dropped to 50. But if he had been the pick at 17, would he still have been a good pick?

Look at the recent drafts. Dane Brugler had Diggs rated as a late first who would have been somewhat of a reach to take at 17. But if you look at the Dallas first round and very high second round picks, 5 out of 7 picks they have made in the last seven drafts were somewhat of a reach also – but made the Pro Bowl and were clearly worth a higher draft position. (The other two are Zack Martin and Taco Charlton).

I’ll copy some of the draft profiles below, all these players had warts or weaknesses that made the media question the Dallas pick to some degree.
2018: LVE – One year starter who didn’t take on blocks well. Considered a mild reach at the time.
2016 and 2017: Jaylon Smith (a gamble who recovered from knee surgery) and Taco Charlton (who developed Late Onset *******edness)
2015: Byron Jones didn’t have an athletic frame or top timed speed, he didn’t get a Senior Bowl invite. Mild reach at the time.
2014: Zack Martin was picked right at his expected spot, but was still considered an average athlete
2014: DLaw – Mild reach, lacked an athletic build and had questionable maturity. A lot of Dallas fans hated trading up for him (including me).
2013: Frederick – Ran a sundial 40 and most draft reports criticized the pick, though he went to 5 Pro Bowls and would obviously go much higher in a redraft. Dallas got crucified for taking him in a trade down instead of Sherrif Floyd, who washed out of the NFL after 24 starts in 4 seasons.

Going off recent history and Dallas scouting, Diggs would still have been a good pick if taken at 17.

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gjkoeppen said:

And just where did these rumors come from that if Lamb was off the board that Diggs was seriously considered? Other users here speculating or maybe insiders speculating or maybe those "draft gurus" that are wrong more than they're right? I just checked 3 pre draft rankings and they were 26th, 30th, and 34th and there is no way you or anyone else is going to tell me that the Cowboys didn't have other players on their board ranked higher than Diggs and would pass them up for him at 17th I'm sure the Cowboys were happier than heck to get Diggs at 51, but to think they would have taken him at 17 is big reach and fuzzy logic that they didn't have other players ranked higher on their board.
.

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speedkilz88 said:

The guys on The Fan & the Cowboys website guys draft show were talking about if Chaisson and the two top CBs were gone the Cowboys would probably look at CBs like Diggs & possibly the two LBs - Murray & Queen - they were thinking hopefully in a trade down but it takes two to tango. Lamb really wasn't in the equation since nobody expected him to slide.

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gjkoeppen said:

And just where did these rumors come from that if Lamb was off the board that Diggs was seriously considered? .

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speedkilz88 said:

I don't know if it's actually in print but it's been reported that the Cowboys had Gallimore #20 on their board and Diggs was #21. Their first 19 picks were 1st round grades with Gallimore & Diggs getting 2nd round grades.

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ThreeandOut said:

I thought it was reported they had 5 players with first round grades at 17 which would include Lamb and I assume Chaisson. While Gallimore and Diggs were two of the top five players on their board at the beginning of Day 2, there were still two players with first round grades on their board.

Even if Lamb and Chaisson were gone at 17, there were still players with first round grades available. So they should have taken one of those three players rather than the lower rated Diggs.

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ThreeandOut said:

I thought it was reported they had 5 players with first round grades at 17 which would include Lamb and I assume Chaisson. While Gallimore and Diggs were two of the top five players on their board at the beginning of Day 2, there were still two players with first round grades on their board.

Even if Lamb and Chaisson were gone at 17, there were still players with first round grades available. So they should have taken one of those three players rather than the lower rated Diggs.

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