By Michael Stets
ALLEN PARK — Depth was a major issue for the Lions’ offensive line in 2017, especially at the tackle position, where injuries caused Taylor Decker and Rick Wagner to miss 11 games combined last season. On Day 3 of the 2018 NFL Draft on Saturday, Lions GM Bob Quinn made a move to prevent that from happening again.
WIth pick No. 153 in the fifth round, Quinn selected tackle Tyrell Crosby, the second offensive lineman taken by the Lions in this year’s draft.
The six-foot-five 310-pound Crosby started all 13 games for the Ducks in 2017, and was named First-Team All-Pac-12. The Henderson, Nev. native has experience playing on both sides of the offensive line and will likely be utilized as a swing tackle for the Lions. NFL draft analyst Lance Zierlein of NFL.com said Crosby is a “Bulldozer” in the run game, and a “Drive blocker with strength.” But said his “Body control and balance are just average.”
Crosby, who was projected by draft experts to get selected on Day 2, was a bit surprised he slid down into Round 5, but remains positive now that he has arrived in the NFL.
“Yeah, I didn’t expect it, but honestly, at the end of the day I’m now a professional football player,” said Crosby, speaking in a conference call with Detroit media. “So, things happen in life and you really just, at the end of the day you realize how grateful you are, especially looking back at how small of a percentage of college players make it to where I made it today. Things happen and I might have gone later than I expected. At the end of the day I’m excited to be a Lion.”
He admitted to being somewhat agitated by his slide into Day 3.
“It’s frustrating just because my personal opinion, I think I’m the best, well, one of the best offensive tackles from the 2018 draft,” said Crosby, who grew up in the same town as Lions safety Miles Killebrew. “But, though it kind of sucks, at the same time it’s just an awesome feeling to know that I’m a part of such a great organization with great history. Wherever I went, I ended up in Detroit and I’m so thankful for it.”
On the NFL Network broadcast, Mike Mayock mentioned the possibility of Crosby having concussion issues as the reason for him sliding into the fifth round. The Lions’ newest lineman addressed that report.
“Really, just talking to my agent and stuff and we were both kind of just confused listening to it,” said Crosby, who is friends with the famous boxing and MMA cutman Jacob “Stitch” Duran. “Throughout the whole Combine process, Senior Bowl, team visits and all that, every team said I was healthy and ready to go if I had a game tomorrow. So, from like everyone I know that has more inside information and all that, that was just more of a … They were just trying to find a reason. But if we had a game tomorrow, I would be 100 percent healthy for it.”
When asked about the actual number of concussions he suffered, Crosby declined to give an answer.
Crosby didn’t allow a sack in 2017, and was named All-Pac-12 offensive lineman of the year, which is an award he is extremely proud of.
“[I have] Just a tremendous amount of pride. As an O-lineman, you never want your running back, quarterback or just anybody with the ball or teammate in general to get hit by anyone. To know that I kept our quarterback safe throughout the entire year is a tremendous achievement in my opinion. Getting named top PAC-12 lineman of the year voted by the defensive linemen, it’s humbling knowing that your peers think that highly of you.”