ALLEN PARK -- When Quandre Diggs was coming out of Texas back in 2015, he was too slow for some scouts. He was too small for others. So he went in the sixth round. He was expecting the third.

He was mad.

A few minutes later, he hopped on the phone with reporters.

"Don't let the speed fool you," he warned. "Don't let the hype fool you. I'm a competitor, and I can go out and play the game. I can get those things done."

It hasn't always been easy, but Diggs was right. He was good as a rookie in 2015, and after experiencing some turbulence in Year 2, he returned last season with a vengeance. He was great at nickel to open the season, then was moved to safety in the final month to replace the injured Tavon Wilson.

Then he picked off three passes in five games.

Diggs played so well in relief of Wilson, there's a possibility he could stay there even after Wilson re-signed with the club. Or he could return to the nickel, where, again, he played well last year. Like, fourth-best in the league according to ProFootballFocus.

Asked which position he feels more comfortable at, Diggs sounded a lot like he did back on that first conference call three years ago.

"I feel comfortable anywhere," Diggs said. "I'm a football player, man. That's always been my M.O., since I played little league football. I've been able to play a little bit everywhere. I just like to play ball, go out and compete. Wherever they put me each and every week, I'm going to compete and I'm going to go do my best to win that matchup."

No matter what happens, the Lions have given themselves options by acquiring multiple players who can play multiple positions in the secondary. Miles Killebrew, a fourth-round pick from 2016, and Tracy Walker, a third-round pick, are also in the running for the safety job alongside Glover Quin.

In the nickel, Jamal Agnew has been named a candidate by GM Bob Quinn. But Nevin Lawson could be an option too. It was the position he originally played in Detroit, and there are a bunch of corners -- like Teez Tabor and DeShawn Shead -- who could win that job opposite Darius Slay.

Shead also has slot experience.

Detroit's secondary was very good last year -- especially Slay, who led the league in interceptions and was voted to his first Pro Bowl -- and everyone's back this year. And that includes Diggs, a sixth-round pick who was too slow according to some, too small according to others, and has turned out to be Detroit's best player in that 2015 draft class.

"We got a lot of competitors -- a lot of competitors," Diggs said. "We got the young guys from last year with Tabor and Agnew and Chuck (Charles Washington) and (Rolan) Milligan. We got guys that really didn't play as much last year that compete their tail off, that could play and line up in this defense. So, I love the group.

"We're always a close-knit group. It's been like that since I've gotten here. We expect to keep that. We have a standard, and that's the standard that we're going to continue to uphold. We're just going to compete against each other each and every day, and go out and have fun at work. And then go out and have dinner."