Georgia linebacker Tae Crowder was the 255th and final selection in this year’s NFL Draft, giving him the distinction of the title “Mr. Irrelevant.”
The New York Giants really don’t care about that title. He’s relevant to them and by all accounts is expected to make a serious run a roster spot this summer.
This week, Crowder finally got recognition for his newly-earned title in his hometown of Pine Mountain, Georgia.
“Mr. Irrelevant” never usually amounts to anything but a reserve player but plenty of UDFAs have made impacts and that is the category where most felt Crowder would fall this spring. He’s an athletic kid (a former running back) that play the game hard but how his talents equate to the NFL level remains to be seen. Can he play linebacker? We’ll find out this summer.
“He was a running back early, they converted him,” said Giants general manager Dave Gettleman. “He’s a 245-pound kid that runs 4.6 and plays 4.6. He’s got some versatility and some value and definitely has some special teams value.”
Head coach Joe Judge is also excited about Crowder’s prospects.
“This is a guy that’s only played a couple years at linebacker. We see a lot of upside with him. Both in his physical skills as well as his emerging defensive understanding. He’ll come in and compete for positions at that Will linebacker spot as well as give impact to the kicking game. We think we added a very competitive group over these last few days. We think today we brought in a lot of guys with versatility and speed,” he said.
