This year, Dustin Crum is receiving some looks near the end of the draft or as an undrafted free agent. The Kent State product had a successful career and is looking to move on to the next chapter. Crum has intriguing upside, but does he have what it takes to play at the next level?
Make sure to check out all of our other NFL Draft Scouting Reports.
Player Bio
Name: Dustin Crum
Jersey: No. 7
Position: Quarterback
School: Kent State
Class: Redshirt Senior
Height: 6’3”
Weight: 207 lbs
Games Watched: Texas A&M (2021), Eastern Michigan (2020), Bowling Green (2020), Utah State (2019)
Major Injury History: None
Player Breakdown
Arm Talent (9/15)
Crum’s arm strength is decent, but it is not great. He can make deep passes, but the throw is not always on point and sometimes underthrown because he has inconsistent mechanics. Crum’s mechanics take time when he is going deep. He is solidly accurate on deep passes, but the length of the throw and average arm strength hinder his arm talent. Additionally, when facing pressure Crum can change his release point to make a throw.
Accuracy (8/15)
Accuracy is not a strength for Crum. His placement on passes is not always great, and he does not always hit on short passes. Crum flashed the ability to make highly accurate throws on deep passes, but his lack of elite arm strength did not always get the ball there. His inconsistent mechanics hinder him regarding accuracy.
Decision Making (12/15)
Crum is a reasonably good decision-maker, and his coaches have touted him for it. At Kent State, he saw a lot of run-pass option (RPO) concepts and did a pretty good job. However, full-field progressions are still a question mark for Crum. He has not shown the ability to anticipate defenders at an elite level nor move through multiple progressions consistently yet.
Progressions (3/10)
Crum did a decent job of moving through reads when given a chance. However, much of his offensive production came off of RPO’s or scrambling. He was solid when allowed to move through multiple reads, but he does not have as much experience as other quarterback prospects. At the next level, making reads is even more difficult, so if Crum does see the field at some point early on, he could struggle.
Pocket Awareness (7/10)
Crum has excellent poise in the pocket. He can stand tall and deliver a throw right before he gets hit. Crum understands when the pocket will collapse and can make a play to move away from the pressure. He does a fabulous job of keeping his eyes down the field when doing so.
Anticipation/Touch (3/10)
Crum is decent but inconsistent when anticipating defenders’ movements and looking for open receivers. He can predict defenders’ movements well sometimes and not great other times. To throw with touch Crum’s mechanics have to change. However, when he had time to get his throw off, he flashed an excellent touch ability to make throws.
Out of Structure (7/10)
The ability to make plays out of the structure is one of the reasons Crum is being looked at for this year’s draft. He flashed tremendous accuracy and made countless plays on the run during college. Crum does not have elite speed, but it does not stop him from running. If he senses too much pressure, he can find a hole to scramble and turn a negative play into positive yards.
Mobility (7.5/10)
Crum’s mobility is one of his better traits. Although he will not blow away many fans with his speed, he has adequate ability to move. Since Crum has solid pocket awareness, he reacts quickly and can bail from collapsing pockets when he notices pressure. His legs have given him the ability to turn plays from a yardage loss to a significant gain.
Mechanics (1/5)
Regarding mechanics, Crum has work to do. While his throwing mechanics are not horrible, they are inconsistent. The ball does not take too long on short throws, but on deep ones can take a while. Also, Crum’s mechanics change on different throws, which creates inconsistency in his game. Sometimes his upper half comes forward too early, which can create issues. Crum’s footwork has improved during college but still has some work to be done.
Player Summary
Crum will intrigue teams because of his college success and flashes of talent. He has a solid arm and can move/make plays on the run. However, there are glaring issues in Crum’s game. He has poor mechanics and has not shown the capability to move through progressions consistently enough to be a starter at the next level.
Rookie Projections: Practice Squad
Third Year Projections: Out of the NFL
Final Grade (57.5/100): UDFA
Player Comp: Easton Stick
Check us out on our socials:
Twitter: @PTSTNews and @TalkPrimeTime
Facebook Page: Prime Time Sports Talk
Join our Facebook Group: Prime Time Sports Talk
Instagram: @primetimesportstalk
Follow Kamran Nia on Twitter @kamran_nia
Main Image Credit: Embed from Getty Images
