Report: Detroit Lions to host CFL’s best rookie for top-30 NFL Draft visit
According to reports, CFL CB Qwan’tez Stiggers will visit the Detroit Lions as a top-30 NFL Draft prospect. His narrative is unheard of.
Each year, teams receive a total of thirty visits from NFL Draft prospects. Teams can perform their own medical evaluations on the players during these sessions, have them meet with positional coaches and analyze film, but most significantly for the Lions, it’s a time to obtain a thorough assessment of the prospect’s character.
Stiggers’ lack of college football experience makes him an intriguing prospect. Instead, he joined the Fan Controlled Football League in 2022 and the Canadian Football League the previous year, following his father’s passing was a major contributing factor in his decision to drop out of college.
When Stiggers joined the Toronto Argonauts training camp last year, expectations weren’t very high, but he quickly won over Josh Bell, the team’s defensive backs coach.
“We thought right away, ‘Oh, he can’t play, he has no experience.'” Thus, the initial approach was negative and pessimistic, Bell added. Following the first day, there was optimism. It was something I had never seen before, and he won the prize for coming to camp with unique experiences for a few seasons in a row.
We should take a close look at the 49ers’ desperate need for another game-winning play.
In 2023, Stiggers’ stock had a sharp increase. In fact, he finished the previous season as the Most Outstanding Rookie, recording 53 tackles and five interceptions in 16 games played. In addition, he had the fifth-best PFF coverage grade in the league, at 85.0.
It’s difficult to predict how Stiggers will do against NFL-caliber opponents given their lack of experience. However, the East-West Shrine Bowl provided him with his first stage appearance, and it was a huge hit. Throughout the practice week, Stiggers made an appearance on a number of lists of notable people.
The cornerback position is one that the Lions clearly need to improve, so they would be wise to explore all of their options. Stiggers’ story is indeed groundbreaking as he is the only player to ever play the Shrine game without any collegiate experience.
