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4 things to know about Patriots sixth-round pick Dametrious Crownover
Crownover became Texas A&M’s starting right tackle in 2024.
The Patriots traded back for the No. 196 pick and selected offensive tackle Dametrious Crownover in the sixth round of the 2026 NFL Draft Saturday afternoon.
Crownover is a Texas A&M product and marks the second OT New England has drafted this year. 2026 is the second straight year in which the franchise has selected multiple OTs in a single draft.
The Patriots are clearly prioritizing quarterback Drake Maye’s protection in this year’s draft and could have a much different-looking offensive line when Week 1 rolls around.
Crownover, 24, is a massive tackle with exceptionally long arms – he stands 6-foot-7-inches tall, weighs 319 pounds, and has 35 ⅜-inch arms. He ran a 5.14 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine.
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Here are four things to know about the Patriots’ sixth-rounder:
He played mostly right tackle at Texas A&M.
Crownover started 26 consecutive games at right tackle dating back to 2024 after spending his first three seasons as a backup. He committed 11 penalties and allowed two sacks in 2025 through 13 starts at RT.
After being drafted, Crownover was asked by local reporters if he felt comfortable playing left tackle. He said it’s a work in progress, but said he knows he’ll be asked to play that side in New England.
“Yes, it’s definitely something that I’ve been working on, knowing that when I got to this next level that they’re going to ask me to do,” Crownover said. “So it’s something I’m not saying I’m 100 percent at. I would be so confident in my right side, but it’s something I’m still working on and getting there. But definitely something that I’m looking to do.”
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The Patriots have publicly committed to keeping last year’s No. 4 overall pick Will Campbell at left tackle. Executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf didn’t assign this year’s first-round pick, OT Caleb Lomu, to one side or the other when speaking with reporters Thursday.
New England also still has 35-year-old veteran RT Morgan Moses on the books through the 2027 season. The team did lose two tackles in free agency in Vederian Lowe and Thayer Munford Jr., so replenishing depth in the trenches through the draft isn’t surprising.
Crownover described his game as one that’s always improving, but that pass protection is his strong suit.
“I’m just dominant in the pass game, and just trying to make sure it’s something I hold to a higher standard,” he said. “I’m still developing in the run game and making sure I’m getting better every time I step onto the field to practice it.”
He was originally a tight end before transitioning to tackle.
Crownover began his collegiate career at Texas A&M as a tight end, but made the switch to OT in 2022. Then-head coach Jimbo Fisher envisioned Crownover’s potential up front given his size.
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“I knew it’d be a little bit of development,” Fisher said of Crownover in 2023. “He’d come as a tight end, but I really felt he could be an offensive tackle. I thought with his size and his growth. I keep saying this, this guy’s athleticism and length and power, and he’s growing into himself. The patience to do it and accept the roles. This guy’s going to be one heck of a football player before he leaves Texas A&M, and I truly believe he’s going to play on Sundays for a long time.”
Texas A&M’s previous defensive coordinator and current head coach, Mike Elko, was the one who scouted and recruited Crownover when he was in high school. Elko said he knew Crownover would be a developmental project and had plans to transition him to the offensive line.
Crownover said he put trust in his Aggies coaches to help him make the switch.
He played basketball in high school and was recruited by D1 schools.
Crownover was a standout basketball player at Grandview High School in Grandview, Texas. He helped lead Grandview to back-to-back state championship titles in 2018 and 2019 and planned to pursue the sport at the collegiate level.
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Crownover even received an offer to play basketball at nearby Baylor University.
However, football coaches took notice of Crownover’s sheer mass and foresaw him making an impact on the gridiron.
Crownover called basketball his “first love” and said that the sport helped prepare him to play football.
“I played a lot of basketball growing up. It was my first love. I fell in love with it,” Crownover said. “I ended up going down this football road and falling in love with another game. But it helped tremendously, just keeping my feet underneath me and being able to move, my lateral side-to-side movements, stuff like that.”
He comes from a football family.
Crownover may be the first member of his family to be drafted to the NFL, but he isn’t the Crownovers’ first football player.
Crownover’s father, Earnest Jr., played defensive line for the Baylor Bears in the 1990s. His older brother, Earnest III, played running back for Texas A&M from 2020-23.
Crownover and his brother were Aggie teammates for three years (2021-23).
Earnest III said in 2023 that having the opportunity to play Division I football with his younger brother was memorable.
“Being able to have my brother here has been pretty good,” he said. “I told him that I didn’t want him to come to A&M just because of me. We allowed him to have free rein of where he wanted to go, but it has been cool to have him here.”
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