Vikings Meet with Deep Sleeper Rookie Prospect
Dustin Baker
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The Minnesota Vikings employ plenty of cornerbacks, but with any luck, a unique prospect could join the club via the NFL Draft in 2.5 weeks.
Vikings Meet with Deep Sleeper Rookie Prospect
He’s Qwan’tez Stiggers, whose resume is about as weird as it gets for a man dropping his name into the draft hopper. KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson tweeted late last week, “Cornerback Qwan’Tez Stiggers to visit Vikings has also had visits with Ravens, Broncos, Jets, Dolphins, Lions, and Texans visits per his agent, Fred Lyles.”
Normally, Stiggers would’ve attended college — probably a prominent school — like many other prospects, but his father unexpectedly passed away in 2020, prompting the youngster to leave school and football subsequently. Thereafter, while battling the grief caused by his father’s death, Stiggers couldn’t rejoin a collegiate program, so he latched onto an upstart “fan-controlled football” league, where he dominated and turned the heads of Canadian Football League brass.
That created a CFL opportunity for Stiggers, signing with the Toronto Argonauts in January 2023. All the man did in that league was win Most Outstanding Rookie and All-Star accolades. Fifteen months after signing in the CFL, Stiggers will enter the NFL Draft with reasonable expectations to fly off the board as a late-round pick.
Pro Football Network’s Tony Catalina wrote about the 22-year-old in January, “Qwan’tez Stiggers is a truly unique story, but make no mistake about it — he can ball. The CFL product has come in and shown the type of ability and approach to fieldwork you would expect from a player who has had the benefit of already being a professional athlete before this.”
“He has been sticky in coverage, has mirrored WRs in 1v1s, and has shown the ability to play multiple schemes going back to his Toronto Argonaut days. It’s only the second practice, but Stiggers has answered many questions scouts may have had for him coming into the week. He should continue to elevate his stock through the rest of the week,” Catalina added about Stiggers in the Shrine Bowl.
Stiggers banked 56 total tackles along with 5 interceptions as an Argonaut last season.
These are the Vikings’ cornerbacks as of April 8th:
- CB1: Byron Murphy
- CB2: Akayleb Evans
- CB3: Mekhi Blackmon
- CB4: Shaquill Griffin
- CB5: Andrew Booth
- CB6: NaJee Thompson
- CB7: Jaylin Williams
- CB8: Joejuan Williams
- CB9: A.J. Green III
The draft is 17 days away, and if you’re looking for a sleeper prospect, redemption story, or underdog, remember Stiggers when Minnesota is at the podium.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sal Spice. His Vikings obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band).
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.
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