The Related Press, the information company that governs the first awards for each NFL season, has introduced new standards for Comeback Participant of the Yr. This shift is noteworthy to Dallas Cowboys followers as considered one of your favorites, CB Trevon Diggs, could possibly be a contender for this honor in 2024.
Traditionally, the comeback participant has gone to somebody who returned from a serious harm or another adversity the earlier 12 months and had an important season. Alex Smith in 2020 is a traditional instance; ugly 2018 leg harm in Washington, missed all of 2019 recovering, however then defied the career-ending projections and returned to go 5-1 as a starter.
Over the past two seasons, although, we’ve seen the award given to gamers who didn’t essentially come again from any main challenge however merely resurrected their careers. Final 12 months’s winner, QB Joe Flacco, had been floundering for years with a number of groups however was all of a sudden lighting up the league when he received an opportunity to begin for the Browns. In 2022, Geno Smith received for going from a failed prospect with the Jets to all of a sudden a succesful starter with the Seahawks.
Apparently, the AP doesn’t just like the route its award has taken. It has clarified that the award will return to its extra conventional measure and get away from rewarding gamers who merely began performing higher.
Comeback Participant of the Yr standards will emphasize overcoming harm, sickness or different adversity that prompted gamers to overlook taking part in time the earlier season. https://t.co/b1BfXBxi9h
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) June 18, 2024
Once more, we’re on this due to Trevon Diggs. One of many NFL’s largest names on protection, the 2021 First-Staff All-Professional missed 15 video games final 12 months with an ACL tear. He’s on tempo to make a full return and even take part in coaching camp this summer season, so hopefully that interprets to sustained greatness as a ball-hawking playmaker within the Cowboys’ secondary.
That’s to not say Diggs is a front-runner for the award. Hardly; solely three defensive gamers have received it within the final 20 years. The final one was Chiefs security Eric Berry in 2015, and earlier than him was Cowboys nice Greg Ellis in 2007. Whereas yearly there are deserving gamers from each side of the ball, it often goes to the flashier guys on offense and, as with many issues, gravitates in the direction of quarterbacks. They’ve received it six years in a row and fourteen of the final twenty years.
There are a number of 2024 candidates from the QB ranks with Aaron Rodgers, Joe Burrow, and Kirk Cousins main the way in which. Given his profile, Rodgers is the betting favourite assuming he has a robust 12 months for the Jets. However even when he doesn’t, many different quarterbacks and offensive gamers stand higher odds of being acknowledged than Diggs.
That being stated, Diggs performs for the NFL’s hottest staff and makes huge, flashy performs. Now that he’ll be taking part in throughout from DaRon Bland, Diggs might get extra possibilities at turnovers than he did in 2022 when opponents correctly opted to select on Anthony Brown. He in all probability received’t get near these 11 picks he had in 2021, however Diggs may put up an enormous, attention-grabbing variety of interceptions.
On the very least, the pool of candidates has now gone down with the clarified standards for the award. If Trevon Diggs does return in fashion, he’ll have a greater shot at being acknowledged for that accomplishment. Hopefully, his success will even imply huge issues for the Cowboys on this upcoming season.
