Why Quandre Diggs’ return for these playoffs is such a huge plus for the Seahawks’ defense
Quandre Diggs says he’s blessed to finally play in the postseason.
“It’s dope,” the veteran free safety said this week.
“When I made it my second year (the 2016 season), I was hurt. I had torn my pec when Detroit came up to play Seattle (in the Seahawks’ playoff win in January 2017), so I was hurt.
“Thinking I’m a second-year guy and we made the playoffs, it’s going to be consistent. Then, you’ve got to wait until your fifth year to make them again.
“It’s definitely a blessing. Definitely excited. It will be a fun atmosphere.”
The Seahawks are the ones who should feel blessed.
They are getting back for Sunday’s NFC wild-card playoff game at Philadelphia the key free safety who reformed their defense after his trade from the Lions in late October. The Pro Bowl alternate practiced fully on Thursday for the first time in three weeks.
“He’s goin’,” coach Pete Carroll said this week.
Goin’ to make a difference, that is.
Diggs has missed the last 2 1/2 games with a high-ankle sprain. His foot got caught under him while he was making a tackle Dec. 15 in Seattle’s win at Carolina. That injury, known technically as a syndesmotic tear, involves ligaments up the leg and often takes up to a month or more of recovery time.
Diggs is back in about half that time.
He researched how a New York Giants star running back and a Dallas Mavericks scorer who is currently leading the NBA’s All-Star voting rehabilitated and returned from their sprained ankles in October and December, respectively.
“I don’t know if it’s sooner (than expected),” Diggs said. “Every injury is different, so you never know. I kept up with guys that have these types of injuries. I really want to give a shout-out to Saquon Barkley and Luka Doncic, because I watched everything and saw how they bounced back. They just kind of put a goal in my mind of what I can do.
“Those guys push me. And they don’t even know it.”
It’s hard to overstate how important Diggs’ return is to Seattle’s iffy secondary and its bottom-tier pass defense.
He has been a revelation in his debut half-season with Seattle. He was the captain of the Lions defense until Seahawks general manager John Schneider swiped him for a fifth-round draft choice Oct. 22. And now the Seahawks see why Lions players such as cornerback Darius Slay were so ticked that Detroit traded Diggs.
He had three interceptions, a touchdown, three passes knocked down, a fumble recovery and a forced fumble—five turnovers created—in his first four games with his new team before he got hurt. The three interceptions in four games tied his career high for an entire season.
Yet he’s been so much more than that.
Diggs’ crunching hits on receivers and ball carriers and his wide range from sideline to sideline and deep as a free safety has reformed how the Seahawks play in the defense’s back half.
Before Diggs arrived the Seahawks had Tedric Thompson misplaying passes that went for multiple touchdowns and big plays in the first half of the season. They were trying more two-deep, cover-two defense with Bradley McDougald also back deep, to help Thompson. They tried Lano Hill and, less and not enough, promising rookie Marquise Blair back there.
It was sub-optimal, for sure. A revolving door on the last line of defense is no way to reach the Super Bowl. The Seahawks finished the regular season ranked 27th in the NFL in pass defense.
Last week Hill started again for Diggs at free safety. That helped make San Francisco rookie wide receiver Deebo Samuel look like Jerry Rice. Samuel burned Hill repeatedly for big plays over the middle, as the third-year veteran took poor angles and missed tackles following Samuel’s uncontested catches.
When Diggs played at the 49ers and at the Eagles in his first two games for Seattle in mid-November, he smashed San Francisco’s Emmanuel Sanders from the game with a hit to the ribs. He crunched multiple Philadelphia receivers. Seattle forced eight turnovers in those games, five by the Eagles. The Seahawks won both those road games to rise to the top of the NFC West and the conference.
Without Diggs, Seattle lost its last two games, both at home, to fall from the first to the fifth playoff seed in the NFC. That’s why they are playing in Philadelphia instead of at home Sunday, and on the road for as long as they last in the playoffs.
Diggs allows the Seahawks to play Carroll wants to in the back: with a single-high safety in cover three, dividing the field into thirds with the two cornerbacks, like they did when Earl Thomas was playing in Super Bowls with them. Diggs’ range, hitting, experience and intelligence as the lone, deep center fielder allows Seattle to employ McDougald more the way he wants to and feels he is best at. That’s closer to the line of scrimmage, more as a Kam Chancellor-scheme strong safety against the run. That also puts McDougald in better position to defend teams’ short, quick passing games.
With Diggs playing free safety behind him, McDougald had an interception of Wentz in Seattle’s 17-9 win at Philadelphia Nov. 24.
“I think I get targeted more when Quandre is back there,” McDougald said. “They might not want to go to certain areas. They know he roams the field.”
“He’s a sideline-to-sideline safety. Definitely a great, great tackler,” Seahawks All-Pro linebacker Bobby Wagner said of Diggs. “He understands how to get certain angles on guys and come down and hit. He’s really, really vocal. A leader out there. Wants to communicate with guys. He’s been in the game for a long time. As you get older, you speak more.
“Having that experience definitely helped us.”
Wagner’s known Diggs for years. Same with wide receiver Tyler Lockett, one of Diggs’ best friends. So Diggs was comfortable in the Seahawks’ locker room even before he had a locker in it.
“I knew how smart of a player he was, how great he was going to fit into the locker room. It was just a matter of him doing it,” Wagner said. “The moment he got here he picked up the defense really, really quick. Started making checks really fast, understanding what checks we were making really, really fast.
“He’s a really smart, intelligent dude who knows how to play the game of football at a really high level.”
Now Diggs is returning to face an Eagles team minus their top three wide receivers and starting running back. Wentz and his offense is wholly dependent on screen passes and short, quick throws to tight ends Zach Ertz and Dallas Goedert, though Ertz may not play because of a broken rib.
“Diggs is a smart guy. He has really good vision. He has great ability to diagnose and he communicates well,” Seahawks defensive coordinator Ken Norton Jr. said. “All that works good when you have a team that throws a lot of screens. You need a guy who has that sixth sense who can smell it out.”
Diggs doesn’t know about that sixth-sense or smelling stuff. He’s too busy preparing for the Eagles—and feeling blessed that after 70 career NFL games he’s back healthier and finally going to start a playoff game.
“It feels good. Excited to get to practice with my guys again,” he said. “You always miss these aspects of playing a game and practicing. You miss those things when they’re taken away from you.
“Like I tweeted out, God is great. We good.”
This story was originally published January 3, 2020 at 7:30 AM.
