Quandre Diggs was rated in the Top 150 on most experts boards, but he fell to 200 where the Detroit Lions snatched him up, and added him to their draft picks that also featured corner Alex Carter from Stanford.
Quandre Diggs, a cornerback from Texas is one of the best cornerbacks in this years draft, however due to extreme concerns about his short height of only 5'9", he fell down to the sixth round. The only real knock on him is that due to his height, he struggled with tall wide receivers, and that may continue against the teams in the NFC North. He has good speed, running a 4.56 forty yard dash, and he a decent vertical jump at 35 inches at the Combine in Indianapolis this offseason. He was a starter all four years at both the nickel and the outside cornerback positions, and will be able to help the Lions on day one.
He is an intelligent player with real good instincts in the secondary, and has fantastic anticipation, reading routes well and setting himself up for a lot of interception opportunities. According to Daniel Jeremiah of NFL Network and NFL.com, Diggs is a mentally and physically tough corner, and he should be ready to produce on day one in the NFL, as he compared Diggs to Corey Ivy. CBS Sports' Dane Brugler also praised his run defending from the cornerback position, and said that he is a good downhill run defender, who plays well physically, and enjoys contact. He is also a hard hitter, and has a good ability to separate receivers from the ball. He is also noted for being a locker room leader, and is a very vocal leader on the Longhorns defenses who quickly earns respect of coaches, including Longhorns new coach Charlie Strong who came from Louisville for his senior season.
He has 11 career interceptions, has a good history as a return man, and has 48 passes defended in college. He played in 49 games over the course of his college career, 80% of the games he started in. Another note of interest is former Longhorns all-American and San Diego Chargers cornerback Quentin Jammer (who went 5th overall in 2002) is his brother, so Diggs has good bloodlines in the NFL. Like Jammer, Diggs is also quite durable, and should be able to stay healthy on the Lions defense.
Diggs should help the Lions secondary, joining Darius Slay and third round selection Alex Carter in improving the Lions biggest area of need this offseason, the secondary.