Quandre Diggs Is Listed As The First Team Strong Safety To Start The Preseason
The Lions released their unofficial depth chart on Monday. Their first preseason game is scheduled for Friday and this is the first look at how some of the position battles may be shaking out. The secondary has been raising questions with two spots that seem to be open to win at cornerback and strong safety. Last year Tavon Wilson was the SS at the start of the season, but an injury sidelined him and paved the way for converted corner Quandre Diggs to take over the role. It appears as though it’s going to be Diggs’ job to lose this time around.
One of former general manager Martin Mayhew’s very last draft picks, Quandre Diggs was drafted in the 6th round of the 2015 draft as a cornerback out of Texas. With a new head coach and a new defense, there was some uncertainty about whether Diggs would stick at safety or transition back to corner. It’s hard to argue whether he made an impact after the switch. Diggs has one career sack and three career interceptions. Each of them came during a stretch of three games after the position change towards the end of last season.
Quandre Diggs – Playmaker
New head coach Matt Patricia runs an exotic defense that values being able to adapt as well as disguise what it’s trying to do. With Quandre Diggs at safety, Patricia is able to change up coverages and assignments without needing a personnel change. Diggs can play a traditional coverage role as well as come up in the box; the man can tackle. His corner experience can come in handy when asked to cover a receiver in the slot. It pays to be good at more than one thing.
Allowing Diggs to play where he has most recently thrived seems like the right choice. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist, as they say. Diggs’ playmaking abilities skyrocketed when he was at safety. It was only a short stretch but the results speak for themselves. Leaving him there and giving him an entire season to get better only makes sense. He could be in for a big year.
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