National Football League

Detroit Lions rookie CB Quandre Diggs getting by on instincts

Published Jun. 9, 2015 1:30 p.m. ET

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Detroit Lions rookie cornerback Quandre Diggs doesn't have imposing size at 5-foot-9 and 196 pounds. He doesn't have blazing speed either, posting a 4.56-second 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine before the draft.

Yet, Diggs' football instincts are so sharp that it's impossible to not notice him on the practice field. He has even caught the attention of starting quarterback Matthew Stafford, according to Kyle Meinke of MLive.com.

"He's got a natural feel," Stafford told MLive.com. "(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."

CB @qdiggs6 intercepted a pass during 1-on-1 drills today. More practice photos: http://t.co/iMRelSbUzR. pic.twitter.com/e4NxOVfdNp
— Detroit Lions (@Lions) June 8, 2015

Stafford isn't the only one to notice Diggs' liveliness in the defensive backfield. Defensive coordinator Teryl Austin used similar adjectives to describe him.

"I like that guy," Austin said, per MLive.com. "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, who's also returning kicks during early offseason workouts, wants to learn from the veterans in the locker room, according to MLive.com. Learning from his elders is nothing new for Diggs; his older brother, Quinten Jammer, played 12 NFL seasons (2002-2013).

(h/t MLive.com)

Photo Credit: Brendan Maloney/USA TODAY Sports