New England Patriots: Keion Crossen turning some heads at OTAs
By Sam Minton
It is only May, but New England Patriots 7th round draft pick Keion Crossen is already turning heads at Gillette Stadium.
Keion Crossen was selected in the 7th round of the 2018 NFL draft by the New England Patriots. He played his college ball at Weston Carolina, a small FCS school, and is a small corner standing at 5’10”.
You may be thinking that this sounds familiar, and that’s because it is.
Crossen sounds like a carbon copy of Malcolm Butler. So much so that Crossen even compared himself to the former Patriot.
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"“I play a little bit of Malcolm Butler. That’s one guy that I can say I kind of model my game after,” Crossen said. “He’s a good player and it showed in the Super Bowl, but that’s kind of who I model my game after. I also look at other corners as well. Things that I have – it gives me an idea of certain things that I can be successful at in the NFL.”"
Crossen had a solid career at Western Carolina. In his 4 years, he amassed 165 tackles, 19 pass deflections, and 3 interceptions.
One of the best players on the practice field
Now it may be early, but Keion Crossen is making a name for himself on the practice field.
Tuesday was the first practice open to the media and he was widely regarded as one of the best players on the field.
Rookie CB Keion Crossen had a hell of a practice. QBs were 0 of 5 while targeting him. Crossen had a leaping INT in the end zone and two pass breakups.
— Jeff Howe (@jeffphowe) May 22, 2018
Now it obviously wasn’t against Tom Brady, but this is still impressive. The foundation for the season is built in these early practices.
The Patriots’ defense struggled a lot in the Super Bowl leaving a sour taste in fans mouths so hopefully the defense will bounce back and have a great season.
With the notable absence of Butler, the Patriots will have a new look secondary. Jason McCourty will be on the opposite side of Stephon Gilmore, but the rest of the spots in the secondary are up for grabs.
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If Crossen keeps up the stellar play, we will be hearing his name a lot more and possibly on Sunday’s once the regular season arrives.