Quandre Diggs to Detroit Lions: Full Draft-Pick Breakdown

After exhausting all of the Detroit Lions' pre-draft needs, general manager Martin Mayhew was free to follow his best-player-available approach in the sixth round, and the result was cornerback Quandre Diggs.

At least one highly educated football pundit found the pick to be the right call:

"

Lions redeem themselves with Diggs. Think he's a far better cornerback than Alex Carter.

— Sam Monson (@PFF_Sam) May 2, 2015"

We'll save that argument for another day, so as to focus on the latest cornerback added to Detroit's growing stable.

How Does Diggs Fit?

Let's get this out of the way: The former Longhorn is not going to play on the outside. He's only 5'9" and doesn't have the speed to hang with big, fast NFL receivers on the outside.

Therefore, he'll either be a nickel or dime cornerback for the Lions. The argument against this pick would be Detroit is already set with Nevin Lawson and Bill Bentley, but relying on either of them is a shaky proposition.

Lawson's foot essentially exploded in Week 2 of his rookie season. The dislocation was so bad that it led Mayhew to tell Kyle Meinke of Mlive.com that he "had never seen that injury [Lawson] had in the 20-plus years I've been around the NFL."

And Bentley's situation might be even worse. He's entering his fourth season, yet only has 17 games total to show for it due to injuries. He's flashed the proper skills at times. He just hasn't been available.

So maybe this was another need-based pick when you break it down, although Diggs could certainly be a luxury.

His measurables, however, won't exactly wow you:

"

New Lions CB Quandre Diggs: 5-foot-9, 196 pounds. Sub-par speed at 4.56, but instinctive player who started 49 games the last four years.

— Josh Katzenstein (@jkatzenstein) May 2, 2015"

But it's the last part of that tweet you need to pay attention to. Diggs is an intelligent player that has learned to read an offense to put himself in the proper place. And once he's there, one knowledgeable fan has noticed another big difference between the incumbent slot corners and Diggs:

"

Diggs is smooth and will rarely make mistakes. Not grabby like BB and Lawson.

— BeastMode (@BeastFBall) May 2, 2015"

Lawson isn't afraid to get physical. He is a willing and able tackler that will throw his 196 pounds into a ball-carrier with nice form. He's a great addition to a system that celebrates smart, aggressive play from its cornerbacks. It's no wonder the Lions pulled the trigger here, and they were extremely lucky he was still sitting on the board.

Final Analysis

After building a solid draft class through four rounds, plenty of fans probably had trouble processing a fullback in the fifth round. It's safe to say he won the faithful back with this pick.

Diggs was rated quite a bit higher on most big boards than where he was taken. Bleacher Report's draft guru, Matt Miller, had Diggs ranked as his 10th-best cornerback and 86th-best prospect overall. This was the 200th pick.

So whether being viewed from a need or value perspective, this was an excellent pick. It's an A all the way. This class could prove to be one of Mayhew's best yet, if not the pinnacle of his drafting career.