Pats Pulpit
Previewing the Patriots cornerback heading into his first season in the NFL.
Despite having several proven starter-level players on their roster already, the New England Patriots decided to make some serious investments in their defensive backfield this offseason. Those investments range from Carlton Davis’ multi-year free agency deal to some low-level undrafted rookie pacts. One of those belongs to Brandon Crossley.
Name: Brandon Crossley
Position: Cornerback
Jersey number: 37 (b)
Opening day age: 24 (1/17/2001)
Measurements: 5’10 3/8”, 186 lbs, 71 3/8” wingspan, 29 1/2” arm length, 8 1/2” hand size, 4.44s 40-yard dash, 7.08s 3-cone drill, 4.35s short shuttle, 30 1/2” vertical jump, 9’10” broad jump, 11 bench press reps, 3.82 Relative Athletic Score
NFL: New England Patriots (2025-) | College: Colorado State (2019), SMU (2020-24)
A two-way player in high school, Crossley was rated as a four-star cornerback recruit coming out of Little Elm, TX. As such, he received quite a bit of interest including from schools like TCU, Texas Tech and SMU. He eventually chose Colorado State out of almost a dozen scholarship offers, but ended up spending only one season in Fort Collins.
After his 2019 season as a Ram, he decided to enter the transfer portal and this time chose SMU as his destination. Over the next five years, Crossley appeared in 54 games for the Mustangs with 30 starts. Along the way, he was a regular around the football and finished with seven turnovers, 11.5 tackles for loss and 26 pass breakups. He also scored a touchdown on a fumble recovery in 2024.
Crossley did not hear his name called in the 2025 NFL Draft and signed with the Patriots shortly thereafter.
Strengths: Crossley is a good linear athlete, who covers plenty of ground and can stick to receivers’ hips on vertical routes. He combines his speed with some good ball skills; he has disruptive hands at the catch point and locates the ball well in the air. In general, he is a competitive defensive back who repeatedly punches above his weight and has plenty of impact plays on his résumé. He also is a versatile player, capable of moving all over the secondary or kicking game.
Weaknesses: Straight-line speed aside, Crossely’s overall athleticism is nothing to write home about. He lacks lower-body flexibility to stay with his players through more complicated patterns in man coverage and to react quickly in zone. He also is on the smaller side from a height, length, weight perspective, leading to some issues against bigger receivers or in the tackling department (25-plus percent miss rate in three straight seasons). His turnover numbers over the last four years also are uninspiring.
Stats: 14 games (13 starts) | 832 defensive snaps, 163 special teams snaps | 35 tackles, 12 missed tackles (25.5%), 1.5 TFLs, 1 fumble recovery (1 TD) | 63 targets, 30 catches (47.6%), 544 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT, 8 PBUs | 1 quarterback pressure (1 hurry)...
