Yes, let's put it into perspective, modern football does not require every GK to be an Alisson or an Edison. There are 18 other clubs in the Premier League. De Gea has been the best GK in the league for the last 5 or 6 years, last season (the tail end especially) very much an anomaly. Therefor, I refuse to cancel out every thing he has done and look at him as some sort of GK dinosaur just because he's not a sweeper-keeper. Also, to put things into perspective, he has consistently had a shit defense in front of him, not only in terms of defending, but in terms of receiving the ball, passing the ball, choosing passes, pretty much everything that requires technical ability and confidence.
That being said, distribution has been his weakest area alongside coming out for crosses with confidence. But every world class player has downsides to their game if they are not Messi or Ronaldo.