Lions Take Cornerback Quandre Diggs With Sixth-Round Pick
By Ashley Dunkak
@AshleyDunkak
ALLEN PARK - With the 200th pick of the 2015 NFL Draft, the Detroit Lions selected Texas cornerback Quandre Diggs.
Lions defensive backs coach Tony Oden said the 5-foot-10, 195-pound Diggs will be able to play inside and outside. Diggs is not the fastest cornerback in the draft, but Oden said he makes up for that with anticipation on the field and preparation away from it.
"He had a play in the Senior Bowl, I think he was playing corner and they ran the play, then he ended up going in to play nickel and they ran the same play but he was in a different position, but he anticipated it, and he knew it was coming, and he jumped it, made the interception and ran it back, so it's little things like that.
"So if you can anticipate what the offense is going to do and you can recognize it and be able to pull the trigger, even though you may not be as fast as someone else, you can react fast because you know that it's coming," Oden continued. "So he's that kind of guy."
Oden also said he likes the way Diggs approaches the game.
"He's a competitor," Oden said. "You can see him competing on the field. Sometimes when guys give up a not-so-good play ... a play that they wanted a different result, you look at the next play or next series of plays. You want to see how they respond to that, and you can see him really compete even more on those next plays. So we know there are going to be some good and bad plays, but how do you respond? And we know how he's going to respond because he's shown that on film over and over."
As a senior in 2014, Diggs logged 73 tackles, three interceptions and five pass breakups. In his four seasons for Texas, he started 49 games.
Diggs' brother Quentin Jammer also played at Texas and went on to play 12 years in the NFL. While Oden did not want to compare Diggs to his sibling, he said the fact Diggs has already been exposed to pro football through Jammer is a plus.
"There's some things, some temptations that may come along with the NFL lifestyle that he's already experienced or seen experienced through his brother, so he's far mature beyond his years in regards to that," Oden said, "so we don't have to worry about his transition into the NFL because his brother went through it, and he's very close with his brother. They talk all the time."
