The New York Giants were on the clock for the final pick of a long and tiring three days at the virtual 2020 NFL Draft — the notorious “Mr. Irrelevant” selection as it is known.
With that pick, the Giants selected their fourth linebacker of the day, Georgia’s Tae Crowder, a 6-foot-3, 230-pound converted running back that was about to go undrafted and enter the wild frenzy of players trying to find their way onto NFL rosters.
But it didn’t quite happen that way. The Giants made Crowder Mr. Irrevelant.
“It was up there on the clock, and I was like dang. They said are you ready to be a Giant,” Crowder told WLTZ. “It was just a blessing that I was even nominated for that too. All I wanted was my mom to hear my name, even if it was the first pick or the last pick.”
Crowder was on the Giants’ radar as he was a player who had played for one of their current coaches — outside linebackers coach Kevin Sherrer — several years back when they were both at Georgia.
“It will just be pretty cool to catch up with him. He can show me things that’s in the NFL that’s stuff that I need to know. That’s new to me,” Crowder said.
The Giants love the athleticism that Crowder brings to the table even though he’s not a conventional, experienced linebacker. They like his productivity and believe he can be helpful on special teams and on passing downs on defense. He had four pass deflections as a senior in 2019.
“I like to play fast and do what I do. Try to get there and try to make plays, so however I can do that I’m going to try to do that the best I can,” he said.
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