NFL roundtable: Which non-QB is having best season so far in 2021?
Conversations about the NFL often start and end with quarterbacks.
The obsession with signal-callers has extended into the 2021 season, with the likes of Tom Brady, Kyler Murray, Justin Herbert and others dominating the early Most Valuable Player talk. Indeed, the league's top award has belonged to passers for nearly the last decade, with Adrian Peterson in 2012 being the last player outside the position to capture it. But that doesn't mean there aren't plenty of compelling performances to be found at a variety of other spots throughout the league.
With that in mind, we asked USA TODAY Sports' NFL writers, columnists and editors:
Which non-QB is having the best season so far this year?
Their answers:
MORE: Trevon Diggs reveals time Nick Saban made him cry—and why the Cowboys star CB now thanks Alabama coach
Jarrett Bell
Trevon Diggs. The second-year Cowboys cornerback is only on pace to become the first player in NFL history to intercept 20 passes in a season, which would shatter one of the league's longest-standing records – the 14 picks by Dick (Night Train) Lane in 1952. Of course, it's early, but Diggs' six picks have included at least one theft in each game, helping the Cowboys (4-1) claim the NFC East lead. It's a pass-happy league, so the footballs are going up and Diggs will get his chances...assuming quarterbacks continue to throw in his direction. Thus, a memo for Mac Jones, the Patriots rookie quarterback who will face Dallas on Sunday: Beware. Then again, Jones is undoubtedly well aware, given that the former Alabama products once played cat and mouse on Nick Saban's practice field.
Jori Epstein
When Trevon Diggs studied film this summer, he calculated and committed to memory: 14 pass deflections minus three interceptions equaled 11 missed opportunities his rookie year. The Cowboys cornerback vowed to change that. And he is.
Five weeks into his second pro year, he’s wrecked games at an astonishing rate. Diggs has intercepted every single team the Cowboys have faced, high-caliber passers like Tom Brady and Justin Herbert not immune from his swiping. He has nabbed six picks through five games—twice as many as anyone else in the league. Diggs returned one interception 59 yards for a touchdown. Teammates credit his electric ball skills with energizing several other scores.
The Cowboys cornerback is not perfect, and his aggression can still be used against him at times. But he’s on pace for a 20-interception season in a league where the all-time record is 14 (Night Train Lane, 1952) and no player has topped 10 in 30 years. Will quarterbacks give Diggs fewer opportunities? Likely, though they haven’t yet veered away from him with Patriots quarterback Mac Jones announcing this week he’s not afraid. As the Cowboys ride high at 4-1, NFL fans will be hard-pressed to find a non-quarterback making more of an impact this year.
Mike Freeman
It’s Dallas defensive back Trevon Diggs, who leads the NFL with six interceptions. The Cowboys defense was one of the worst in football last season and there’s no question his emergence is a huge factor in the team’s defensive turnaround this year. In fact, I could argue what Diggs is doing is more impressive than any offensive player, since the NFL’s rules are stacked against defenses. Overall, we’re looking at a legit MVP candidate. He won’t win it but at this point in the season he should be in the conversation.
Mike Jones
It has to be Dallas Cowboys cornerback Trevon Diggs, who in his second NFL season has absolutely erupted and looks like the best defensive back in the entire league.
In five games, the Alabama product (and brother to Buffalo Bills star wideout Stefon Diggs) has six interceptions, 10 passes defended and he's holding quarterbacks to a completion percentage of 47.4 and a passer rating of 29.2 when they target him. Diggs hasn't allowed a touchdown all year, yet, has scored one of his own. He is flat-out dominating, and he's a big reason why the Cowboys defense is much improved during this 4-1 start to the season.
Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz
I'll break the consensus here. For as impressive as Trevon Diggs has been in tallying six interceptions, a certain degree of happenstance has been needed in the Cowboys cornerback's breakout season. But for Davante Adams, the first five games of the season have just reinforced what a singular force the Packers wide receiver is. Leading the NFL with 579 receiving yards, he's on pace to break Calvin Johnson's single-season record of 1,964 (albeit in one more game thanks to the expanded schedule). And there's no Tyreek Hill-Travis Kelce dynamic here; Adams has accounted for a ridiculous 37.4% of Green Bay's targets. Opponents know where the ball is going and throw complex coverages and double teams at Adams, and the All-Pro still delivers, recording at least five catches and 50 yards in each game so far this season. Any debate about the NFL's best wide receiver has all but evaporated, and Adams could render it moot for some time.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Which non-QB is having best NFL season so far in 2021?
