ARLINGTON, Texas – Aaiden Diggs, star of "Hard Knocks," had a big request for his dad before Monday night's home opener at AT&T Stadium.
"He was like, 'I want you to get an interception and a touchdown,'" Trevon Diggs said. "I kept my promise."
Through three games, all Diggs has done is deliver.
In Monday's 41-21 blowout win over the Philadelphia Eagles, the second-year cornerback became the first Cowboys player since Everson Walls in 1985 to begin a season with an interception in each of the first three games.
Diggs' third-quarter, 59-yard interception return for a touchdown on his former college teammate, Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts, gave the Cowboys a commanding 27-7 lead. It was also the franchise's first pick-six since Byron Jones got one in 2017.
Jones made the Pro Bowl for the Cowboys in 2018 but was not re-signed after that season. Diggs, a second-round pick in 2020, was drafted to replace Jones as a starter and difference maker in the secondary.
Through three games, he's making the 'second-year jump' that head coach Mike McCarthy referenced during training camp.
"He's in a zone matchup-wise," McCarthy said. "…The guy has got phenomenal hand-eye coordination. Just the way he breaks on the ball, he's got as fine of hands that I've seen in a long time."
The Cowboys asked Diggs to travel with Pro Bowl receivers Mike Evans and Keenan Allen across the field in the first two games against the Bucs and Chargers. He didn't cover one specific receiver Monday but matched up often with another ex-Alabama teammate, Eagles first-round pick DeVonta Smith.
Diggs' familiarity with Smith and Hurts helped him make the pick-six play.
"I had read Jalen's three-step (drop), his quick-game read, and the receiver had a short split, so I was expecting him to run an out," he said.
"I was seeing them every day and at Alabama we'd go ones-on-ones and we're competing every day. DeVonta knew what I wanted to do, and I knew what he wanted to do. So it's fair game. It was fun."
Diggs, who began his college career at receiver, says he got his hands on 14 balls that he believes could have been intercepted last season. He picked off three.
His focus in the offseason was increasing that total.
"I'm a new corner, so I have to put in that work," he said. "A lot of these other corners have a lot of years on me. I have to put in that work just to be good or even better than them. I've got to put in those hours. I've got to put in that time. It's just something that my family comes from, just working hard and grinding."
Three days before the end of September, Diggs has already matched his rookie interception total.
He's looking for more.
