Lions to host intriguing CFL CB Qwan’tez Stiggers for visit ahead of draft
The Detroit Lions are hosting one of the 2024 NFL draft’s most intriguing prospects, CFL rookie of the Year Qwan’tez Stiggers, on a top-30 visit on Thursday.
Stiggers is vying to become the third player in modern draft history to get drafted without playing college football. According to ESPN, defensive tackle Eric Swann (1991) and wide receiver Moritz Boehringer (2016) are the only other players with that distinction.
Stiggers signed with Lane College in Tennessee out of high school, but returned home after his father died and during the COVID-19 pandemic. He played one season in the Fan Controlled Football League, a 7-on-7 indoor league near his home in Atlanta, and led the league with five interceptions, according to ESPN.
With the help of his FCF coach, Stiggers signed with the Toronto Argonauts of the CFL, where he intercepted five passes last season and was named the league’s Most Outstanding Rookie.
Stiggers, 5 feet 11 and 203 pounds, played in the Shrine Bowl college all-star game in February but was not invited to the NFL combine. He has pre-draft visits with seven teams and will host a personal pro day at his old high school later this month.
The Lions, who signed last season’s CFL sack leader, Mathieu Betts, earlier this offseason, are in the market for cornerback help in free agency and the draft. They re-signed veteran Emmanuel Moseley to a one-year deal Tuesday and current have just two other cornerbacks under contract: Cam Sutton, a starter last season, and Craig James, who signed a futures deal with the team in January.
Kindle Vildor, who finished last season as a starter, will be an unrestricted free agent next week, and the Lions do not plan to tender a contract to restricted free agent Jerry Jacobs.
Along with Stiggers, the Lions have a predraft visit scheduled with Northern Iowa defensive tackle Khristian Boyd, another NFL combine snub who shined at the Shrine Bowl.