Tae Crowder, the 255th and final selection in this year’s NFL Draft, has signed his rookie contract with the New York Giants.
Crowder was coined “Mr. Irrelevant,” the title given to the last player taken in the draft. The 6-foot-3, 235-pound former running back turned linebacker piqued the Giants’ interest with his athleticism and production.
“He’s a 245-pound kid that runs 4.6 and plays 4.6,” general manager Dave Gettleman said. “He’s got some versatility and some value and definitely has some special teams value.”
“This is a guy that’s only played a couple years at linebacker,” head coach Joe Judge added. “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.”
Crowder began his career at Georgia as a running back and switched to linebacker midway through his redshirt freshman year in 2016. He only played in one game that year, but would go on to appear in 43 contests over the next three seasons.
Crowder’s career statistics include 122 tackles (50 solo) with 10 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks and two interceptions Crowder also had seven passes defensed and two forced fumbles.
