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College coach thinks Patriots rookie could play left tackle if needed
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- College coach thinks Patriots rookie could play left tackle if needed
New England Patriots rookie Dametrious Crownover's college offensive line coach is confident that he has the skill set to be a successful swing tackle at the NFL level.
Crownover was selected by the Patriots in the sixth round of the 2026 NFL Draft. The first thing that stands out about him is his incredible size. He measures in at 6-foot-7 and 319 pounds. Texas A&M offensive line coach Adam Cushing recently spoke about Crownover's abilities on the football field.
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"We did have some designs on moving Crown to the left side, but what happened was that he had a wrist injury [and club cast] on his left arm, and the left hand is critical for that initial punch," Cushing told the Boston Globe , via NESN.com's Cole Shelton . "We were flipping him during walkthroughs, and we've done a ton of drill work with him at left tackle.
"But with that wrist issue, we went in a different direction. All that being said, he's a smart guy and a good athlete. I have no doubt he'd be able to pick it up on the left side. In that case, we just had to protect his wrist."
Crownover will have an opportunity to work his way up the depth chart and serve as an extra swing tackle, along with rookie first-round draft pick Caleb Lomu. A team can never have too many good offensive linemen on an NFL roster. The Patriots are hopeful that Crownover can learn and develop into a future starter under their watch.
Granted, he still has some work to do when it comes to getting up to speed on the technique that it will take to succeed at the next level. But the truth remains that you can't teach size. The physical attributes, combined with the right technique, could make Crownover a problem for opposing defenses in the future.
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This article originally appeared on Patriots Wire: College coach thinks Patriots rookie could play left tackle if needed
