Aden Durde reunited with his former star ballhawk in Seattle, witnessing a resurgent Trevon Diggs reclaim his All-Pro form following years of devastating injuries and NFL uncertainty.
Trevon Diggs has spent the better part of three years trying to find his way back to the player Aden Durde remembers.
Durde thinks he may finally be getting there.
The Seattle Seahawks' defensive coordinator coached Diggs in Dallas witht the Cowboys during his rise into one of football's premier ballhawks. He saw the 11-interception All-Pro season. He saw the second consecutive Pro Bowl that followed.
And after injuries derailed much of what came next, Durde is now watching Diggs attempt to revive his career in Seattle.
His assessment?
“I think he's still the player,” Durde said. “Like, he's still got it.”
That's a rather significant endorsement coming from someone who knows exactly what that player once looked like.
Diggs led the NFL with 11 interceptions in 2021, the highest single-season total in the league since 1981, while earning first-team All-Pro and Pro Bowl honors. He followed it with another Pro Bowl selection in 2022.
Then came the injuries.
A torn ACL ended Diggs' 2023 season after two games. Injuries limited him to 11 appearances in 2024, and he appeared in eight games with six starts for Dallas last season before the Cowboys released him in December.
Green Bay claimed Diggs off waivers shortly afterward. His brief Packers stint lasted through the postseason before he was released in January, and Seattle eventually signed him Aug. 19.
The biggest question surrounding Diggs at this stage has been whether his body can allow him to resemble the player Durde remembers.
“He hasn't played football in a long time,” Durde said. “It's just going to — it's a process of just getting everything back underneath you, having the daily routine of getting your body right in practice.”
Seattle has already gotten one rather familiar flash.
After only two practices with the Seahawks, Diggs played three defensive series against Kansas City and intercepted quarterback Garrett Nussmeier for Seattle's only defensive takeaway of the game.
“Hopefully I showed that I can still play,” Diggs said afterward. “I'm ready to go. I'm ready to play. I'm ready to help this team win.”
Durde has noticed another encouraging development since then.
“I would say since the Kansas City game, I've really seen his legs get underneath him,” Durde said.
There is another potential hurdle Seattle can seemingly cross off the list, too. Asked whether Diggs knows enough of the Seahawks' defense to play, Durde didn't hesitate.
“Yeah, he knows enough of the defense,” Durde said.
Diggs remains on Seattle's practice squad after the Seahawks released him during final cuts and brought him back the following day. Seattle has said he'll factor into the competition to be its third cornerback.
His next challenge is turning these encouraging signs into a spot on Seattle's game-day roster.
Durde already knows what peak Diggs looks like. He saw plenty of it himself in Dallas.
Now the coach who watched Diggs become an All-Pro believes some of that player is showing up again.
“He's still got it” is quite the endorsement.
Diggs getting the chance to prove it would be even more interesting.
