Buffalo Bills hosted CB Qwan’tez Stiggers on a top-30 pre-draft visit

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Hamilton Tiger-Cats v Toronto Argonauts
Photo by John E. Sokolowski/Getty Images

An inspirational story, Stiggers continues the circuitous path to realizing his NFL dream

The Buffalo Bills recently brought in cornerback Qwan’tez Stiggers for a top-30 pre-draft visit ahead of the 2024 NFL Draft. Aaron Wilson was first to report that One Bills Drive was among the list of stops for Stiggers’ spring road trip.

Most recently a cornerback for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL), Stiggers carries an interesting and unusual football history. That’s due to the fact that Stiggers didn’t play a down of college football.

Despite the relative obscurity with which Stiggers thrived in until 2023, he’s since become one of this draft cycle’s biggest stories.

But Stiggers is no stranger to American football, having come to cherish it in his youth. Back then, his mother would find any and all football-related opportunities for Qwan’tez, which eventually led to his playing the role of kicker due to his diminutive size at just 5’5”. A late bloomer, Stiggers eventually grew enough and found his way to adeptly playing defensive back for his high school football team.

He showed promise, but in a small school — which saw him gain the attention of and ultimately choose to enroll at Division II Lane College. That was in 2020 — the same year his father was involved in a traumatic car accident, which sent Stiggers’ dad into a coma that eventually claimed his life. Football became an afterthought almost immediately. At least initially.

Prior to making the Argonauts’ roster in the CFL, Stiggers was focused on anything other than football to keep his mind off losing his father. That included delivering food and washing trucks.

But football once again became the focus, and the thing that grounded him when he needed it most. That led Stiggers to Fan Controlled Football (FCF) in 2022 before a 2023 CFL season that saw him earn CFL East All-Star as well as the CFL’s Most Outstanding Rookie Award.

Now, after stints in both the FCF and CFL, Stiggers is ready to realize his NFL dream. As has been life for Stiggers, he’s had to work harder than most to get where he wanted. He wasn’t invited to the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine, yet he found representatives from 29 NFL teams at his private pro day. Stiggers’ numbers left quite an impression with those in attendance

As Eric Galko reported, Stiggers posted the following at 203 pounds:

  • 4.47 40-yard dash
  • 36.5” vertical
  • 10’8” broad jump

How does Qwan’tez Stiggers fit with the Buffalo Bills?

Does the story of an unheralded late-round defensive back who lands with the Buffalo Bills ring a bell? Of course it does. Stiggers sounds like just the sort of player head coach Sean McDermott seeks out, and knows he’ll put in position to succeed on an NFL field. A potential late-round gem, Stiggers may have now become someone teams covet in the middle rounds, hoping to capture a bit of his unorthodox lightning in a bottle.

Though he lacks the requisite pedigree of most NFL draft prospects, he may outpace them all in heart. He doesn’t lack for motivation, and he’s willing to see the process through. Importantly, Stiggers is a family man, and his character certainly has the attention of McDermott and One Bills Drive.

The Bills are in need of help at cornerback, and Stiggers just might be the next in line to develop out of the shadows of bigger names ahead of him — should he land in Orchard Park, NY. The question isn’t so much whether he fits the Bills and if Buffalo is interested in him. It’s when and by whom Stiggers finds himself drafted in a week’s time.

If you’re able, Nick Baumgardner’s long-form story on Qwan’tez Stiggers at The Atlantic is a highly recommended read.

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