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How Can Trevon Diggs Help the Packers' Defense?
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How Can Trevon Diggs Help the Packers' Defense?

Originally posted on Athlon Sports  |  By Doug Farrar  |  Last updated Dec 31, 2025 7:26 PM ET

No matter how talented an NFL player may be, everybody needs the right schematic fit, and the right kinds of coaching, to thrive. Testing the idea that a player can automatically fit into any concept, or insisting that said player can do what you require in your system no matter what his attributes actually are? These are good ways to turn potential assets into afterthoughts.

One obvious recent example of the negative inverse in this case is the relationship between the Dallas Cowboys and cornerback Trevon Diggs, a relationship that ended on December 30, when the team announced that Diggs was released. It was a bombshell announcement for a player who had been given a five-year, $93 million contract extension in 2023 with $33,304 million guaranteed.

Back then, Diggs (who the Cowboys selected with the 51st pick in the second round of the 2020 draft out of Alabama) was playing in a way which made that contract sensible. Under defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, who was with the Cowboys from 2021-2023 and knows how to develop aggressive man/press/match cornerbacks, as well as Al Harris, Dallas' defensive backs coach from 2020-2023 and the Cowboys' assistant head coach & defensive backs coach in 2024, the Dallas/Diggs pairing seemed perfect.

Diggs exploded onto the scene in 2021, when he allowed 27 catches on 101 targets for 1,068 yards, five touchdowns, 11 interceptions, nine pass breakups, and an opponent passer rating of 70.1, He followed that up with a 2022 season in which he gave up 63 catches on 91 targets for 761 yards, five touchdowns, three interceptions, 10 pass breakups, and an opponent passer rating of 99.2.

Even at his best, Diggs had a boom-or-bust element to his play — due to both his attributes and limitations — but for a while, he became one of those defenders you Did Not Want To Deal With. Even in the transition from Quinn to Mike Zimmer as the defensive coordinator in 2024, Diggs was playing at a decent level when he was healthy. Primarily because the new staff (and Harris) understood how best to utilize what Diggs did best.

Unfortunately, injuries have played a part in Diggs' recent downfall. He hasn't played a full season since 2022, and in 2025 under first-year defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus and without Harris (who is now in charge of the Chicago Bears' turnover machines at defensive back) it all went straight to you-know-what. Diggs has dealt with multiple physical issues, there was all kinds of talk about schisms in the building regarding Diggs and Eberflus' coverage concepts, and when Diggs was on the field, the results were about as bad as they could be. This season, Diggs has allowed 16 catches on 20 targets for 286 yards, three touchdowns, no interceptions, no pass breakups, and the highest possible opponent passer rating of 158.3.

Despite all of that, the Green Bay Packers picked Diggs up on waivers one day after his release. For a Green Bay pass defense that has allowed 339 completions on 518 attempts for 3.296 yards, 24 touchdowns, seven interceptions, and an opponent passer rating of 92.9, and is dealing with various secondary injuries as it prepares for the postseason, it's an "any port in a storm" situation to a point. Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley will now be charged with finding better ways to utilize Diggs than the Cowboys' staff had this season.

The good news there is that Hafley couldn't possibly do any worse.

How did it all fall apart?

The 7-8-1 Cowboys currently rank dead last in Defensive DVOA overall, and only the New York Jets have been worse this season when it comes to Pass Defense DVOA. One of the approximately 7,834 reasons Dallas' defense has fallen apart is Eberflus' insistence on old-school concepts like pure spot-drop coverage, where defenders drop to an area of the field as opposed to matching receivers though the route. This more passive approach, which is not advisable against today's passing games for a host of reasons, is reflected in part by the fact that the Cowboys have had no cornerbacks in press coverage on 57% of their snaps this season, the NFL's fifth-highest total. If you're going to play that much off coverage against offenses that have all kinds of receiver distribution trickery, motion, quick game, and RPO options, you'd better have a more developed sense of how to array your defenders against all that smoke.

Eberflus hasn't, and Diggs is one of several defenders who have paid the price. And when Diggs has been in press, it's not been in ways that bring out his best.

Put simply, Diggs is not, nor has he ever been, the classic backpedal cornerback who could smoothly hit a reverse gear against a vertical receiver and win that way. He is best when playing one of two types of press coverage — aggressive press, when the defender puts his hands on a receiver at the line of scrimmage to disrupt the route, or mirror-match press, when the defender waits for the receiver to declare his route, and the defender matches through said route. Diggs can do both of these things more than credibly, and that has been the case even in his recent injury-stunted seasons.

As far as off coverage, the best way for Diggs to succeed there is to play off at linebacker or safety depth as an overhang defender, where he can have everything in front of him, and he can close to the ball quickly. Diggs does have some re-direction ability when it comes to defending receivers who try to trick him with quicker, more angular stuff, but you want to keep that to a minimum.

So, how can Diggs help the Packers' defense?

This season, the Packers have had at least one cornerback in press coverage on 31% of their snaps, which is about middle of the pack for the NFL. The Packers under Hafley play a good mixture of aggressive press and mirror-match, which nicely with Diggs' skill set. Diggs could also be used as an overhang defender in Hafley's system.

In Week 4, when the Cowboys and Packers played to a 40-40 tie, Diggs had his best game of the season in coverage. He allowed one catch for minus-3 yards, and nearly came up with an interception on a Jordan Love pass to receiver Savion Williams. In addition, Diggs had no issue with and tackling, through the run-stopping left a bit to be desired. As usual, Diggs was left on bad islands with coverage techniques that have never fit his abilities.

Ideally, the Diggs addition will give Hafley and the Packers more options in coverage, with the understanding that the boom-or-bust stuff will also show up. As for Diggs, he has to be relieved to be in a system with coaches who have any possible understanding of what he can do, and what should be avoided.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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