A Look At Quandre Diggs Opening Press Conference Of The 2018 Off-Season.

Lions cornerback Quandre Diggs is entering the final year of his rookie contract, this season. Diggs certainly has played far above his 6th round draft slot, finding success as a nickle corner and at safety. If the Lions are to extend him beyond 2018, his versatility will likely be a factor.

When asked about what position he will be primarily playing this season, Diggs had this to say “We don’t know. We just here to play football man. You know me, I don’t care where I play, I just want to go line up and compete and have fun. That’s the most important thing right now”. Anyone who watches Diggs on the field knows he has passion for the game, adding that he likes learning different positions. Being able to “be multiple” is something we have heard a lot this off-season from the Lions staff since adding new head coach Matt Patricia.

Patricia has been known to employ big dime looks will some regularity during his time as the defensive coordinator for the New England Patriots. The Lions will need as many defensive backs who can play multiple positions as they can get. Diggs seems to fit that mentality when he said “I feel comfortable anywhere, I’m a football player. That’s always been my M.O., since I played little league football.”, when asked about his comfort level playing multiple spots on the defense.

https://twitter.com/fordfield/status/991778332789354496

Earlier this week, Diggs joked on Twitter that he could not find a place for his fans to find his football jersey for sale. The Lions followed it up with a tweet from Ford Field, stating that they will be carrying Diggs jerseys. On the topic of his jersey being made available, he stated “It’s a blessing to have that opportunity to have your jersey in the store where people are asking to get them. I’m humbled by that.”

Diggs echoed Patricia’s desire to work hard throughout the interview. But saying that they have a long way until the football season starts and reiterated that the team is mostly working out at this point. However, when he was asked about how the defensive back group’s outlook for the 2018 season, Diggs said “…I love the group. We always a close-knit group. It’s been that way since I’ve gotten here. We expect to keep that we have a standard, and that’s a standard we continue to uphold.”

With the topic shifting towards the previous year, Diggs was asked about how he felt his 2018 season went and what he felt he proved last year. He responded with “I think I proved I’m a complete football player. That I can do multiple things. But, I think my resume kinda speaks for itself. I’m a tough, hard nose football player that’s not afraid of contact and can go out there and make plays”.

Staying in 2018, concluding questions asked if there was anything that really “clicked”. He spoke about how he has better preparation and following the guidance and advice of teammates Glover Quin and Darius Slay.

Ultimately, I think Diggs has a great shot to be extending following this season. His ability to play multiple positions in the secondary is big for this defense. But, his instincts and ability to stuff the run should be noted as well. Being able to tackle as the slot back in nickel is huge to confidence the coach has in calling the package.

If the opposing team can audible to a run every time they face nickel, the defense can be exploited. Diggs reliability against the run, balls skills, physicality, and positional flexibility should all be big factors for his success in Detroit through 2018 and hopefully beyond.

Chat with Zac on Twitter @Warbs24 and on the Detroit Lions Subreddit community!