The Cowboys have one of the top cornerbacks in the NFL in Trevon Diggs, who is still looking to silence his critics even after being named an All-Pro in only his second year. Anthony Brown, the Cowboys CB2, has known that world for years, and the vitriol seems to come in abundance.

Diggs led the league with 11 interceptions last season and was second in passes defended with 21. However, according to several metrics via Next Gen Stats, it was Brown who was named a top 10 coverage player for 2021, landing in the sixth spot.

NFL.com's Nick Shook on Brown's ranking:

"We always get a few surprises with these rankings, and Cowboys fans will likely raise an eyebrow at this one. (I know I did.) For much of 2021, it felt like Brown was getting attention for being on the wrong end of a completion, but his total résumé tells a different story.

Brown saw more targets as the nearest defender than any other player in 2021 with 117, yet he was consistently right there to make a play — or, at the very least, make a completion difficult. Despite the high volume of targets, Brown's tight-window rate was over 28 percent, and he allowed the sixth-lowest completion percentage among defensive backs (49.6).

His completion percentage allowed below expectation finished at a solid -6.4 percent, and he finished with the sixth-lowest targeted EPA on deep balls (-6.8). While Trevon Diggs attracted the lion's share of positive praise in 2021, Brown was there on the other side playing a solid No. 2 cornerback."

Despite the shots that Brown takes from his detractors, mostly Cowboys fans, he had a productive sixth year in 2021. Brown set career highs in tackles (71), interceptions (3), and passes defended (17, tied for third in the NFL).  Brown was called for five penalties last season, but four came in a Thanksgiving loss to the Las Vegas Raiders, with showed he was a disciplined player in coverage for pretty much the entire year.

Regardless of how people feel about Brown's play, as the man that lines up opposite of Diggs, his role is vital to the Cowboys' defense. Kelvin Joseph, who was taken in the second round in 2021, is looked at as the potential new second corner in Dallas. However, after not playing much in his rookie year, and the uncertainty of his availability this season because of an off-the-field incident, Brown is the guy that holds down the fort at the moment as CB2.

Brown has managed to be a starter for a good portion of his career. He'll never be a lockdown corner, that's just not his game. However, as a sixth-round pick, he's more than exceeded any expectations of what he can do on the pro level.

Feature image via Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports