Quantez Stigers was one of the more unlikely stories of this year’s draft, but his career story could get even better.
Robert Saleh said Saturday that he’s had plenty of time to watch Stigers, a 2024 fifth-round draft pick, in training camp and believes the player he discovered out of the CFL is “definitely” a cornerback at the NFL level despite never even playing college football, and “now we’re trying to figure out if he can be a starting cornerback in the NFL.”
Of course, the Jets defense already boasts arguably the best starting cornerback duo in the league in two-time All-Pro Sauce Gardner and DJ Reed, both of whom many believe should have been selected to the Pro Bowl last season.
But he saw plenty of playing time in the secondary in nickel-and-dime packages and on special teams, and the 22-year-old Stigers turned heads through the first 10 days of training camp at Florham Park.
“We’re definitely happy with him,” Saleh said. “I think he has great patience at the line of scrimmage. He’s very smart. He’s not academically smart, but he’s instinctive beyond his age when it comes to route recognition and understanding concepts.”
“He’s one of those guys that we’re all looking forward to seeing against other opponents because we think he has the potential to be pretty good.”
That the Georgia native will have a chance to prove himself to the coaching staff in preseason games, starting Saturday against the Commanders, would have been unthinkable just a few years ago.
Stiggers was set to enroll at Division II Lane University in Tennessee in 2020, but his freshman season was canceled due to COVID-19.
When his father, Reives Harrison, died in September that year after being in a coma for seven months following a car accident, Stiggers took a break from school and football to work a variety of jobs to help support his family and his mother, Kwana.
But he then played in a semi-pro 7-on-7 fan-controlled football league, which eventually led to a contract in Canada.
Stigers recorded five interceptions as a CFL rookie with the Toronto Argonauts last season, earning an invite to the East-West Competition and putting him on the Jets’ radar on draft day.
He interviewed with cornerbacks coach Tony Oden and clicked well with him, so the team spent their third fifth-round pick (176th overall) on him, making Stigers just the third player in the Common Draft Era (since 1967) to be drafted without attending college.
He said the local Falcons aren’t “really” interested in drafting him, but “they’re going to pay the money.”
“The crazy thing is, on April 15th, Coach TO [Oden] Sent to me [photoshopped] “I’m happy I got a picture of me being drafted by the Jets,” Stiggers said Saturday. “To get that picture on the 15th and then get drafted two weeks later, man. [on April 28]It was fate. It’s a fairy tale.”
Stiggers, listed as 6-feet tall and weighing 197 pounds, almost put it in superlatives when talking about his first experience in the NFL.
He called Saleh’s coaching staff “one of the best in the league” and the training staff “one of the best in the world.”
He also called Garrett Wilson “the best receiver in the league” and described working with Gardner, Reid and the other defensive backs as “the best room in the world.”
“Honestly, they’re like our teachers,” Stiggers said of Gardner and Reid. “Like D.J. is sitting here. [on my left]Source can be found here [on my right]I sit in the middle. Whatever they ask, I write it down and then I ask. [them] “No questions accepted.”
Stiggers appeared to be fouled for pass interference on one play during the Green and White’s scrimmage on Saturday, but he said his teammates are already supporting him with that mentality.
“Whatever you call it, it’s ‘next play,'” Stiggers said. “Pass interference, next play. You can’t think about the play that happened before. [if] If you think that way, you will always think that way.
“DJ has taught me that because DJ is one of the best, no, best cornerbacks in the league. I’ve seen him give up plays a few times in practice, but he bounces right back. I’ve learned that from him and being around him and Sauce has only made me better.”
And Stiggers, who has thrived while moving around the secondary throughout camp, spoke as if he plans to stay with his new coaching staff.
“This is probably one of the best teams in the NFL,” Stiggers added, “and we’re building something special.”
