It's not very often that a sixth-round pick gets much hype coming out of the draft, unless you try to pretend anyone had knowledge of what Tom Brady was going to be in the NFL, but one Patriots' selection is getting a lot of buzz around what he could do for the offensive line, and that's exciting in many ways.
That player is offensive lineman Dametrious Crownover, a former tight end who mostly played right tackle at Texas A&M.
Although the Patriots used their first-round pick on Caleb Lomu, a left tackle out of Utah, who is projected to be their next starting right tackle, Crownover has an interesting background that makes him a potential steal at the position with a chance to carve a role for himself as a solid backup or maybe even a starter.
At the very least, The Athletic's Dane Brugler believes he's going to surprise people with his skills ahead of and during the upcoming season, predicting that we haven't seen the best football out of him just yet, and that could be significant for a team that desperately needed help on their offensive line.
Dametrious Crownover could be a sneaky good draft pick for the Patriots
While discussing every team's best and worst classes from this year, Brugler named Crownover as a potential surprise player with a lot of potential for the Patriots.
He might be a sixth-rounder, and their futures are generally not too bright, but Brugler, along with other analysts, feels Crownover has a good chance to prove that sentiment wrong.
"Though he doesn’t have nearly the same ceiling as Lomu, Crownover is a former tight end with outstanding length (86-inch wingspan) and a skill set that suggests his best football is still ahead of him. Quintayvious Hutchins in the late seventh round was also solid value."
Because it was clear the Patriots needed to prioritize protecting Drake Maye, it was unsurprising that they double-dipped at tackle and selected versatile players who could play across the line if needed.
Crownover provides that and then some, with his tight end background proving he can move and is far more athletic than what you might typically see from a lineman. Utilizing that will make a huge difference for the offense as a whole in 2026, and if they manage to get a star in the making out of Crownover, that will only make it even better.
It puts Maye in a much better position than he was just one year ago, and that's what matters most.
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