Jerry Jones Says Cowboys Had '1 Percent Chance' to Draft Trevon Diggs

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said the team's research showed there was almost no chance Alabama cornerback Trevon Diggs would be available with the 51st overall pick.

"We have well-done, in-depth studies and charts that we all were reviewing [Friday] morning before the draft," Jones told reporters. "All of our studies showed that he was in the one percentile. Diggs was in the 1 percent chance of falling to us there. One."

The Cowboys ended up with the 2019 first-team All-SEC defender, but not before exploring various trade-up opportunities to take him earlier that ultimately weren't necessary.

"We spent a lot of time [Friday] thinking about trading up," Jones added. "But the thing, of course, about this trading thing now is that you have to have someone to trade with. You've got to be ready, and you've got to do all the work as though you have several of them wanting to trade with you. We couldn't get those trades. Nobody wanted to trade them."

Jones was also motivated by the possibility of finding more late-round gems on Day 3.

"What excites me is that if it can happen to you on Day 1 and 2, I'm a dreamer, and I like to think it could happen to you on Day 3," he said. "I can't wait, if it keeps going like this. We've gotten three players here that we've seen make inordinate, I mean rare, plays. All three of them." 

Jones then joked he's superstitious and would "do the exact same thing I did last night."

Although Dallas clearly viewed Diggs highly, outside evaluators didn't necessarily think it was a minor miracle he was still there at No. 51. Bleacher Report's Matt Miller ranked him as the 47th-best prospect in this year's class on his final big board.

Regardless, the 21-year-old Maryland native should make an instant impact in the Cowboys secondary.

Diggs played a limited role across his first two years on the Crimson Tide's star-studded roster, and his junior season came to an end after just six games because of a foot injury.

His high-end potential was finally able to show through in 2019 as he recorded 37 total tackles, eight passes defended, three interceptions, two fumble recoveries and two touchdowns in 12 appearances.

"As I was going through [the predraft process] I was like, 'OK, I have been here before. I know what to do,'" Diggs told reporters. "There are a lot of things that we do in Alabama that carry over [to the NFL]."

He should compete with Anthony Brown for a spot in the Week 1 starting lineup opposite Chidobe Awuzie. At minimum, he should see extensive work in nickel and dime packages as a rookie.

Diggs has enough upside to become a true No. 1 corner in the NFL, but it's going to take some development time after limited experience as a starter at Alabama.