The defense of the Dallas Cowboys instantly got better with one move, trading for five-time Pro Bowl cornerback Stephon Gilmore which shocked the NFL world.

Putting Gilmore opposite Trevon Diggs, the Cowboys CB1 who has registered 17 interceptions since entering the league in 2020, tied for the most in football, gives Dallas arguably the top cornerback duo in the NFL.

Gilmore is eight years older than Diggs with plenty more experience. However, the former sees a situation where both can be leaders as they work together, after all, iron sharpens iron.

“We’re going to push each other," said Gilmore. "It’s not just him learning from me. We’re going to lean on each other [and get better] everyday.”

Gilmore's pedigree is without question something Diggs can learn from though.

The former Defensive Player of the Year can play a man-to-man or be productive in zone coverage thanks to his football acumen and ability to anticipate when it comes to reading routes. 

That's not to say that Diggs doesn't have those qualities, after all, he's a multiple-time Pro Bowler and has garnered an All-Pro honor in his first three seasons. Experience is the best teacher, and that's where Diggs can lean on Gilmore, as he suggested. 

Gilmore may be going in his 12th season, but his ball skills are still top-notch, and opposing quarterbacks won't have an easy time going down the field with him and Diggs patrolling the gridiron.

At some point, quarterbacks will simply have to pick their poison when it comes to attacking Gilmore or Diggs, which the elder can't wait to experience. 

"It's going to be fun," Gilmore said. "When the season gets here, they've got to throw it somewhere. One of us is going to get tested. Just gotta be able to make the play when it comes our way.

"They gotta throw it. One of us is gonna make the play."

That they will, that they will. 

It won't just be Gilmore and Diggs quarterbacks will have to worry about when it comes to the Cowboys. 

DaRon Bland, who the Cowboys took in the fifth-round pick in last year's draft, has ball-hawking skills which were on display immensely with his team-leading five interceptions. Also, Jourdan Lewis has built a reputation for being around the all as well.

Sprinkle a three-headed monster at safety with newly signed Donovan Wilson, Jayron Kearse, and Malik Hooker, gaining yardage threw the air won't be easy for any Cowboys opponent in 2023.