Does OLB Keyron Crawford Have the Special Skillset Daronte Jones Needs to Keep Offenses Off-balance?

Sep 27, 2025; College Station, Texas, USA; Texas A&M Aggies quarterback Marcel Reed (10) looks for an open receiver as Auburn Tigers defensive end Keyron Crawford (24) applies defensive pressure during the second quarter at Kyle Field. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

Keyron Crawford, OLB/Edge

Team: Auburn Tigers | Conference: SEC

College Experience:  Senior | **Age:**22

Size: 6’4” | 253 lbs | 32” arms

Projected Draft Status: 3rd to 4th round

Commanders Meeting: Combine

College Statistics

Provided by CFB at Sports Reference: View Original Table
Generated 4/13/2026.

2025 Advanced Statistics

Pressure Rate: 17.8% | Sack Rate: 2.1% | Run Stop Rate: 6.1% | 0.62 Y/Cov Snap

Player Overview

Crawford was a high school basketball player for Briarcrest Christian School in Memphis. He switched to football in his senior season and earned Regional Defensive MVP honors with 78 tackles and 14 sacks.

Despite minimal playing experience, he was a three star recruit to Arkansas State in 2022. His breakout sophomore season (44 tkl, 10.5 TFL, 5.5 sacks, 2 FF) gained SEC interest. He committed to Auburn, where he earned moderate playing time in a reserve role as a junior.  He earned a starting role at the “Buck” position in DJ Durkin’s defense, and again had a breakout performance in his second season with a new program, posting 36 combined tackles, 9.5 TFL, 5 sacks, 1 INT and 1 TD.

Crawford is a stand-up outside linebacker, with a lean frame, who oozes twitchy athleticism.  He displays ideal athletic traits for a 3-4 edge defender (ED) on the field, including an explosive first step, lateral agility, closing burst and blazing play speed. He is a fluid athlete, with ideal bend in the pass rush and loose hips to move with receivers in coverage. Crawford is an aggressive pass rusher, who plays with toughness and a relentless motor.

As you might expect from the relatively recent switch to football, Crawford is a raw prospect. But his college experience demonstrated that he is also a quick learner, and he is dripping with upside to develop.

Crawford is still developing his rush repertoire and needs to refine his hand work. Nevertheless, his 17.8% Pressure Rate in 2025 placed him at the 96th percentile of 516 FBS EDs (min 200 def snaps). To compensate for his short arms, he also needs to refine his technique to close plays better. Even so, he logged 5 sacks in 2025, good for a Sack Rate (percentage of rush attempts resulting in a sack) at the 73rd percentile of FBS EDs.

Crawford’s biggest area for improvement is run defense.  He is developing recognition skills and plays with good discipline.  He has quick get-off and speed to blow up running plays in the backfield.  But his Run Stop Rate was below average for the ED draft class (48th percentile of draft eligible FBS EDs – min 80 run def snaps; 43rd percentile of consensus-ranked EDs). He will need to add mass and strength to reliably set the edge in the NFL, if that’s what the Commanders need him to do.

Last, but not least, Crawford is experienced and adept in coverage. The Buck position he played at Auburn is an OLB who alternately rushes the passer and drops into coverage, analogous to the role that Andrew Van Ginkel played with the Vikings when Daronte Jones was defensive passing game coordinator.  In 2025, Crawford played 125 coverage snaps, the 7th most among 516 FBS EDs and around 50% more than the next most utilized ED in the draft class.

Crawford shows good coverage ability for an OLB. His Rate of Yardage Allowed (Y/Cov Snap) was near median of 79 FBS EDs who played more than 50 coverage snaps.  But, he didn’t allow any TDs or receptions longer than 17 yards; and he was one of just 43 FBS EDs with an interception.

There are not many NFL OLBs with a comparable mix of size, apparent speed and versatility of assignments. He appeart to share Andrew Van Ginkel’s athleticism, but he’s bigger and more physical than Van Ginkel was coming out of college, and he looks to be better in run support.

Strengths

• Versatility to rush the passer and drop into coverage
• Ideal athletic traits for a rush OLB: explosive, quick first step, fluid bend, agility, closing speed
• Good pop to get off blockers, lateral agility and pursuit speed to make plays against the run
• Jars tight ends to re-route them at the line, movement skills to cover receivers in space
• Plays tough, with a nonstop motor
• Durable, no significant injuries reported
• High character player and person, coaches report strong work ethic
• Ascending player with high upside to develop further

Weaknesses

• Short arms limit reach, leading to missed tackles and challenges closing plays
• Raw prospect with limited playing experience, needs to develop rush counters and improve play recognition and anticipation
• Will need to bulk up and add strength to set the edge reliably
• Niche skillset could limit appeal to many teams (not an issue for Commanders)

Let’s See His Work

How He Fits the Commanders

The Commanders’ will be implementing a new defensive scheme this season, under incoming DC Daronte Jones. While the details have yet to emerge, the expectation is that it will derive to some extent from Brian Flores’ defense in Minnesota, where Jones served as defensive passing game coordinator.

The Flores scheme utilizes heavy doses of blitzing, supported by zone coverage. The linebackers and edge rushers alternate between the pass rush and dropping into coverage to disguise pressure and keep offenses off balance.  That pressure concept requires EDs with a fairly unusual combination of skills in the pass rush and coverage.

Crawford is heavier, but has a lot of similarities as a player to Andrew Van Ginkel, who is an integral part of the Vikings’ defense, and the most utilized ED in coverage in the NFL. The similarities even include the relative weakness in run defense and the 32” arms.  Crawford actually appears to be ahead of where Van Ginkel was in run defense, coming out of college, and might even be ahead of where he is today.

Crawford has the skillset to contribute fairly early as a pass rush/zone coverage specialist in a zone-blitzing defensive scheme, if that’s where Daronte Jones takes the Commanders.  He gained experience on special teams throughout his time in college, and has the athletic profile that Larry Izzo should like, providing another avenue to get playing time, while he hits the weight room and works on refining his game to become a more complete defender.

If there is any Defensive Coordinator in the NFL who knows how to use Keyron Crawford’s unusual skillset to best effect, aside from Brian Flores, it’s his protégé, Daronte Jones.

The challenge for Adam Peters, if he’s as high on Daronte’s wishlist as I suspect, is when to pull the trigger. When I signed up to write this profile, near the end of the college season, Crawford had a fifth-round projection. He has been a big riser in the draft process, and is currently sitting at 93 on the consensus board. As a relatively raw prospect, Crawford might be at a disadvantage to several more advanced prospects who could be available at the Commanders’ 71st overall pick, such as CB/S Keionte Scott, ED Romello Height, C Sam Hecht, CB Davison Ibinosun, WR Elijah Sarratt and RB Mike Washington Jr, to name a few.

But, I think there is a possibility that he could drop to the Commanders at #147, or if they add a fourth-round pick in a trade, due to his relative inexperience, short arms and niche appeal. If he is available on Day 3, he could be a tremendous value addition to the ED lineup.