Qwan’tez Stiggers NFL Draft Overview
Height: Five-foot-eleven
Weight: 204 pounds
Position: Cornerback
School: N/A (Toronto Argonauts, CFL)
2024 NFL Draft: Qwan’tez Stiggers Scouting Report
According to Pro-Football-Reference, only Jordan Mailata has ever been selected in the NFL Draft without playing college football. In Mailata’s case, he was part of the NFL’s International Pathway Program, played rugby in Australia, and was a seventh-round pick of the Philadelphia Eagles. That could soon change with the potential selection of Qwan’tez Stiggers.
Stiggers was a star at The B.E.S.T. Academy in Atlanta, Georgia, and was initially slated to play football at the HBCU, Lane College (FCS). However, the year was 2020, so COVID shut down the season. To make matters worse, his father tragically passed away, causing Stiggers to fall into a deep depression, thus knocking him out of college.
After a year away from the game, he was convicted by his mother to get back to his training and ended up securing a spot in the start-up Fan-Controlled Football league. One of the FCF coaches was a former assistant for the Canadian Football League’s Toronto Argonauts and took notice of his five-interception season. That earned him a tryout.
Despite expecting to get cut, Stiggers made the Argonauts’ squad and blossomed into a star. In 16 games, Stiggers logged 53 tackles and an impressive five interceptions. His efforts made him the first defensive back in 25 years to take home the CFL’s Most Outstanding Rookie award for the 2023 season.
Now, Stiggers is looking to make his NFL dream a reality. His Pro Day was electric and 29 NFL teams attended. While not earning a selection for the NFL Scouting Combine, Stiggers suited up for the East-West Shrine Bowl.
With how the NFL and the various TV networks love to highlight adversity (to put it lightly), when Stiggers is selected, they’re going to have a field day.
Strengths
- Elite athletic profile
- Good instincts in coverage
- Can play any coverage, excels in man coverage and can be very sticky
- Surprisingly good ball skills
Qwan'tez Stiggers is a CB prospect in the 2024 draft class. He scored a 9.31 #RAS out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 168 out of 2422 CB from 1987 to 2024.https://t.co/7BcDsQAh7q pic.twitter.com/Uk0H2HbhTa
— Kent Lee Platte (@MathBomb) April 5, 2024
Weaknesses
- No college football, only played FCF and CFL, so there are concerns about quality of competition
- Still incredibly raw and will be a project
- Needs to develop route recognition, can get fooled by double moves
Projected Round: Seventh Round
Best Fits: Philadelphia Eagles, San Francisco 49ers, Atlanta Falcons, Cincinnati Bengals, Kansas City Chiefs, Los Angeles Chargers
Bottom Line on Qwan’Tez Stiggers
The NFL Draft is often regarded as a crapshoot and late-round picks are dart throws. More often than not, day-three picks do not contribute much to an NFL team. However, there are those diamonds in the rough. Stiggers has the opportunity and ability to be this year’s late-round steal.
The biggest red flags with Stiggers stem from his in experience. Since graduating from high school, he’s only played two seasons and one was the gimmicky Fan-Controlled Football league. He is very raw but he has a high upside.
His athletic profile alone will have Stiggers highlighted on teams’ big boards. His 9.34 RAS (updated) is incredibly impressive and is the eighth-best in the cornerback class (compare that to Terrion Arnold’s 9.27 RAS).
Stiggers has a very real chance of breaking out and developing into a real NFL corner. He excels in coverage and has often been noted as sticky at the Shrine Bowl. He can match up with talented receivers and win.
As it is, those red flags are real. However, NFL scouts are starting to fall in love with the former CFL star. Just like with most late-round picks, Stiggers will have to cut his teeth on special teams (which he can) as he develops as a corner. Going from DoorDash to the NFL is about as “rags-to-riches” story as one can get and Stiggers is about to make it a reality.
Main Image: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports
