3 Syracuse football newcomers who'll have the biggest impacts in 2024

3. Fadil Diggs, EDGE

There were several directions I could have gone with when jotting down the final top addition for Syracuse this offseason. Brown addressed the wide receiver room well, bolstered an already-talented backfield by adding Washington transfer Will Nixon, and even beefed up the offensive line. But adding a player like Diggs to the defensive front should pay off the most right away. 

In order to compete in an offensive-heavy ACC conference, teams must be able to disrupt opposing quarterbacks and wreak havoc at the line of scrimmage on a consistent basis. Diggs fits the mold as that type of game-changer.

A former four-star prospect and the 2019 New Jersey Gatorade Player of the Year, Diggs earned 32 starts at Texas A&M throughout his three seasons in College Station. The edge rusher was productive as both a run stuffer and pass-rusher in 2023 behind 11 tackles for loss, four sacks, and 36 tackles across 466 defensive snaps. 

Diggs and Alabama transfer Isaiah Hastings should give Syracuse a pair of powerful, plug-and-play defensive linemen who should improve an Orange front that only registered 29 sacks last season (tied for eighth in the ACC).