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Lions rookie defensive back Quandre Diggs has stood out during OTAs.

(Mike Mulholland | MLive.com)

ALLEN PARK -- Cornerbacks can be small. They can be slow.

They can't really be both.

Quandre Diggs is trying to break the mold.

To be fair, the rookie defensive back isn't exactly slow. He ran the 40-yard dash in 4.56 seconds at the combine, which was below average, but also not at a turtle's pace either. He has more than enough giddy-up to get by at this level.

It's just that most guys with his kind of speed have something else going for them -- typically, size. But Diggs stands 5-foot-9 and 196 pounds. So he has to rely on something else.

In his case, it is his instincts.

The coaching staff noted he had strong football instincts after drafting him in the sixth round out of Texas last month. And through two rounds of OTAs, he has not disappointed.

"He's got a natural feel," said quarterback Matthew Stafford, who has faced Diggs several times during OTAs. "(He) made a play the other day in the red zone that wasn't even on the ball. I wasn't in the game, I was just watching from afar, and was like, 'Man, our QB wanted to throw it, and he just took it away at the last second.'

"He's got a good feel in zone, and I think he's a feisty kind of competitor in man. He's going to be around the football trying to make plays on it."

Diggs, because of his size, likely has to win a job at the nickel and on special teams if he is to make the 53-man roster. The competition at nickel will be heated, with Bentley, Lawson, Josh Wilson and Chris Owens other possible contenders.

With all that traffic at the position, it could have been easy for Diggs to get lost in the shuffle. But Bentley continues to sit out team drills while coming back from a torn ACL, and Lawson is doing the same with his dislocated foot.

Cornerback Alex Carter, a third-round pick, missed the first two rounds of OTAs while wrapping up classes at Stanford.

So Diggs has gotten some run as the first-team nickelback during the first two rounds of OTAs. He's played some outside cornerback, too, and even took some reps last week at kick returner.

And he's made the most of those opportunities.

"I like that guy," defensive coordinator Teryl Austin said. "He's scrappy, he's tough, he's got good ball skills, he's got good football sense that I've seen so far."

Diggs said he can play anywhere the coaches want him, and is trying to learn three positions. That's a lot of information for a rookie, but some of the veterans are helping bring him along.

"We definitely have some quality veterans in the room who will help me get through the situation," Diggs said. "I just stay in that iPad, and continue to work it. I have a good IQ, but at the same time, I got to lean on the older guys to help me a little bit."

Diggs, in addition to learning the defense, shagged some kickoffs alongside Ameer Abdullah, TJ Jones and Ryan Broyles last week. It's something he's done before.

He handled kicks as a true freshman at Texas, averaging 19.5 yards on 19 attempts. He also returned nine punts that year, averaging 20.1 yards, and 13 the following season.

He eventually gave up those duties, partly because he was playing every snap on defense, but he welcomed the opportunity to compete there with Detroit.

"I feel really comfortable there," Diggs said. "I was the primary kick returner my freshman year in college, but then I played every snap on defense, so they kind of took me off. But I've done it all my life."

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