New York Jets Rookie With Harrowing Story Has ‘Most to Gain’ From Camp

The New York Jets drafted a player in the fifth-round of the 2024 NFL draft that didn’t play college football. Training camp could be a huge chance to show off that he belongs and an alternative route to the league exists.

As Pro Football Focus’ Ben Cooper looked around the league for each AFC team’s rookie with the most to gain from training camp, they landed on cornerback Qwan’tez Stiggers for New York.

Stiggers had an incredibly unique journey to the NFL and him finding success could mean a lot of things for the future of the league, offering a different journey.

The start of his football journey was a sad one.

“So, February 14, 2020, my dad was involved in a single-car accident. His car flipped 13 times. I graduated in May 2020. That’s when I went to Lane College in Tennessee on a scholarship. Then my dad passed on September 19, 2020. I went through a depressing time. Didn’t come out of house for several months,” said Stiggers in an interview with the CFL’s Chris O’Leary.

He never played college football, rather playing three years of football in alternative professional leagues.

He started his professional career playing for the Fan Controlled Football League after his mom signed him up and begged him to play. It is indoor football league that was based around fans controlling everything from team design to calling the plays.

The level of play wasn’t near what he would have gotten in college, but he’s not the first former player of that league to make the NFL. Dallas Cowboys receiver KaVontae Turpin also played in the league.

Stiggers then went to the Canadian Football League where he signed with the Toronto Argonauts. He immediately made his presence known and walked away with the CFL’s Most Outstanding Rookie Award.

He had five interceptions and 53 tackles in route to an All-Star nod.

When the Jets drafted him a couple of months ago, he become the first player drafted away from Canada in 25 years. It’s clear that New York is not afraid of his interesting journey to the league, rather focusing on what has made him an intriguing player.

New York has a full cornerback room that will be hard to find playing time in as a rookie, but a nice training camp could potentially land him a spot as the next guy up in the rotation.