Keyron Crawford
Experience
POSITION STATS LAST SEASON
Position-Specific Grades
COMBINE RESULTS
The Takeaway
The Player
Crawford is a late-blooming edge prospect who began playing football only five years ago, and his trajectory reflects that inexperience. He started at Arkansas State and finished at Auburn, and he broke out in his second year at each stop, showing clear year-over-year growth and emerging as a disruptive presence.
He’s a stand-up edge with a lean frame, shorter arms, and room to add strength, but his athletic traits are highly appealing. Crawford is a twitchy, explosive mover with excellent first-step quickness, bend, lateral agility, and closing speed. He plays with relentless energy and flashes the ability to win both around the edge and working back inside.
As a pass rusher, he’s still developing his toolbox. He needs to add more counters and refine his hands, but he already generates pressure at a high rate (43 pressures and a 19.6 percent win rate in 2025), indicating real upside. His hand quickness and ability to reset for leverage help him compete despite his lack of length and bulk.
Against the run, he’s improving. He shows good recognition and discipline, plays with a solid base, and uses his hands effectively to hold his ground, though his frame can still be tested by bigger blockers.
Crawford also brings versatility, with experience dropping into coverage. He has the natural instincts and enough movement skills to hold up in space.
The biggest concern is finishing—his shorter arms contribute to a high missed tackle rate (24.4 percent), limiting his ability to consistently close plays.
The Draft
He’s still too raw to be considered a plug-and-play starter worth drafting in the first two rounds. However, Crawford should provide value as a designated pass rusher as a rookie, and he can hone his skills to push for an every-down role as a second- or third-year player, making him a solid Round 3 pick.
The Projection
Crawford fits perfectly in a versatile OLB role as a stand-up edge in a base 3-4 scheme. He has some shades of Jalyx Hunt, who is slightly shorter but has longer arms. They also share twitchiness, relentless motors, and positional versatility, with the ability to rush and drop in coverage.