'Wasn't Even a Good Year!' Seahawks EXCLUSIVE: Quandre Diggs to Elevate Play
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Earning his third consecutive Pro Bowl selection manning center field for the playoff-bound Seattle Seahawks, Quandre Diggs put up a stat line during the 2022 season that most NFL safeties would envy.
Extending his NFL-best streak of six straight years with at least three interceptions, Diggs picked off four passes, finishing second on the team behind only rookie sensation Tariq Woolen. Along with finishing fourth on the team with 71 tackles, per Pro Football Focus, he ranked first in the NFL in receptions allowed (10), completion percentage (47.6 percent), and passer rating (60.7) among qualified safeties.
But while such production would signify a career year for the majority of players at his position, in reflection of his overall performance, Diggs felt last season wasn't quite up to the lofty standards he sets for himself on the gridiron.
In an exclusive interview on my daily Locked On Seahawks podcast, Diggs admitted he opened the season playing hesitant at times after returning to the field following a lengthy recovery from a broken ankle. Like most players coming off a severe injury, it took time for him to get comfortable moving on the ankle again and resume flying around making plays as a run defender and in coverage as he was accustomed to.
"I think last year was some timid times where you don't want to throw that ankle out there and you don't want to make that step," Diggs explained. "And there was some things where I was kind of rounded, and I wouldn't get out of my brakes the way I've been used to getting out of my brakes for the last 15-20 years."
Set to become a free agent, Diggs broke his ankle while making a tackle in the fourth quarter of a Week 18 road win over the Cardinals in January 2022. With emotional teammates and coaches looking on, he had to be carted off the field and quickly was transported to the local hospital, eventually flying to Green Bay with receiver Tyler Lockett for surgery.
Though his operation went swimmingly and without a hitch and the Seahawks re-signed him to a three-year, $30 million deal, Diggs spent the majority of the spring and summer rehabbing the injury at the expense of his typical training program. While he made it all the way back to start for Seattle in a Week 1 victory over Denver, he got off to a somewhat challenging start, missing four tackles in the first five games and failing to register an interception or pass breakup until Week 9 in Arizona.
Looking back, Diggs believes an abbreviated offseason with minimal time to unwind coupled with only a month of actual football-related training prior to reporting for camp put him behind the eight ball a bit. Transitioning into a new defensive scheme made circumstances even more challenging.
"I usually start training in March and through March, April, May, June, July. I have five months before training camp and I went into the season last year off one month of training, which is unusual," Diggs said. "People don't do that. It was more of an expedited offseason for me having to just rehab every day for six, seven months straight. It gets grueling. I mean, you don't get a mental break, you don't get opportunity just to refresh."
Gaining confidence in the ankle as the season progressed, Diggs played far better in the second half of the season and started to play like the "Nino" of old. Starting with a two interception performance in defeat to the Raiders in Week 12, he registered four picks and two pass breakups in the Seahawks final seven games, including snagging a critical interception of Rams quarterback Baker Mayfield to secure an overtime win in the season finale.
In five of those final seven games, opposing quarterbacks posted a passer rating below 40 when targeting Diggs in coverage and completed only two out of eight pass attempts for a dismal 25 percent completion rate. Preventing big plays down the seam and in the post, the no fly zone was back in business.
But in the midst of that stellar stretch, Diggs kept battling through an uncharacteristic case of the drops, failing to reel in a gimme pick against the 49ers in a Week 15 Thursday night defeat. Normally as sure-handed as any defensive back in the sport, he finished tied for second in the league among safeties with four dropped interceptions, a fact that still frustrates the veteran defender two months after the season concluded and leaves him wondering what could have been.
"I catch so many footballs in the offseason that last year was like a blip for me dropping interceptions. I say last year wasn't even a good year," Diggs bluntly assessed. "But if you look at my numbers, and you compare those numbers to other safeties around the league, that's their best year ever ... I should have had eight interceptions last year. If you look at it and you go have eight interceptions, then what do the people say?"
Though the drops still eat at him, however, Diggs doesn't expect the issue to linger into next season and he's excited to prove a decent, not great, year negatively impacted by a long rehab was an anomaly and not a sign of things to come.
Unlike last March when he still had a cast on his leg, Diggs has kicked off his normal offseason program and already started training for his ninth NFL season with sights on elevating his game back to his standards. With ample time to recharge and spend time with his family as well, he's set to reap the rewards of normalcy, which should make him far more prepared when camp opens again in July.
Back to his desired routine and fully healthy, Diggs intends to continue strengthening his leg with the goal of regaining the explosiveness and quickness he had pre-injury. Additionally, he plans to snag extra passes throughout the summer to ensure the dropsies don't return in 2023 and he can capitalize on his interception opportunities when quarterbacks make the mistake of testing him in the secondary.
With months remaining to "fine tune" his game and a chance to participate in OTAs and minicamp, Diggs plans to blow his numbers from a year ago out of the water and re-establish himself as one of the NFL's premier safeties, playing his part in helping the Seahawks take the next step from fringe playoff team to legitimate Super Bowl contender in the process.
"I just can't wait to get back to show people that I ain't lost nothing and I mean, I'm 30 years old. My first two years, three years in the league, I played nickel, so I wasn't playing every snap ... I just want to get back to catching the football consistently and making my tackles when I'm supposed to and continue to eliminate big plays."
Listen to the entire interview below:
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