NFL Draft
3/5/25
5 min read
Kitan Crawford 2025 NFL Draft: Scouting Report For Nevada Wolfpack SAF
Height: 5105 (verified)
Weight: 202lbs (verified)
Year: Redshirt Senior
Pro Comparison: TBD
Scouting Overview
Nevada Wolfpack safety Kitan Crawford is a twitchy athlete with extensive experience as a special teams ace during his time at the University of Texas. His hitting power, tackling ability, dynamic athleticism, and experience should all afford him the opportunity to compete for a roster spot and stick on a 53-man roster.
His growth into a defensive role in 2024 for Nevada was promising, but questions linger about his ability to serve as a reliable back-end player in coverage. He must eliminate some of the careless tackle challenges as the last line of defense that could yield big plays on the ground.
2025 NFL Combine Results
| Position | Name | School | 40-Yard Dash | 10-Yard Split | Broad Jump | Vertical Jump | 3-Cone Drill | 20-Yard Shuttle | Bench Press |
| S | Kitan Crawford | Nevada | 4.41 | 1.52 | 128 | 41.5 | 6.81 | 4.03 | 18 |
Positives
- Superb explosiveness in the open field and with transitions in space
- Is a heck of a striker as a tackler and brings violence with added focus on stripping the football away
- Has one of the most robust special teams resumes in recent memory with 1,010 career snaps on the special teams units
Negatives
- Only one year of significant defensive opportunities, which came in a bump down in competition
- Missed tackles seem to come at bad times, including at least one whiff in the hole that led to an explosive run
- Can be over-aggressive at times with fitting from depth, compromising angles
Background
Crawford is from Tyler, TX, and played high school football for Tyler HS. There, he was a two-way talent as a running back and cornerback who garnered high accolades as a 4-star recruit (247 Sports). Crawford initially committed to Texas, turning down offers from schools like Tennessee, Texas A&M, Nebraska, and others. He would go on to play four seasons for the Longhorns program from 2020-2023. He played 46 games during his time with the Longhorns, with a whopping 860 snaps played on special teams across those four seasons.
He entered the transfer portal as a 3-star transfer (247 Sports) and landed with Nevada for his fifth and final season of play. He was given more snaps at Nevada on defense than his four years at Texas combined and showed potential to be a developmental defensive talent. He played in the 2025 Hula Bowl before blowing the doors off his testing at the 2025 NFL Combine.
Tale Of The Tape
Crawford's impressive foundation of athleticism is the foundation of his game. He’s a reactive athlete with an explosive twitch and dynamic hitting power for his size — traits that make it apparent why he was such a successful special teamer for Texas before making the leap at Nevada into the role of a full-time defensive player.
The defensive reps this year showed an aggressive run fitter, sometimes to a fault, who loved to step down and deliver jarring hits. He was able to cover a lot of ground from off-coverage and, when playing from depth, attack the flats or insert into the core. Sharp angles compromised the consistency of his angles, but the speed and eagerness with which he fit offer appeal for an NFL projection.
Crawford showcased good body control and wrap-up ability when ball carriers tested his tackle radius and forced him to redirect late. His missed tackle issues most often came when he tried to lay opponents out and drop his eyes to launch into hits.
But thanks to his special teams experience, this is a player who is used to tackling in space and, just as important, comfortable playing through contact in order to continue his pursuit of football. Effort and pursuit are big standout traits. On a number of occasions, he hawked down opponents in breakaway foot races to prevent scores. One such play also saw him rip and strip the football; he shows a persistent nose for attacking the ball as a tackler, too.
Crawford's question in the pass game is just how big of a menu he can get comfortable with. He played all around the Wolfpack defense, from the slot to a deep-half safety role and on the second level. Playing him closer to the line of scrimmage leans into his run-stopping appeal but does put a cap on his every-down usage.
We now know that the athletic profile should not be a limitation, but his confidence in covering space in such a passive role feels like a big leap compared to the positive tendencies in his game. Crawford will need patience in this regard, but the good news is that his robust experience as a core-four special teamer will keep him plenty involved on game days until teams get clarity on whether it’s going to click.
Ideal Scheme Fit, Role
Crawford projects as a fourth safety in a room early in his career. He does boast the foundational athletic profile to receive patience as a developmental defender as well.
He was moved around often at Nevada with nearly equal reps in the box as he had on the back end — perhaps he could grow into a big-nickel role as an underneath subpackage player and blossom from there.
Grade: 71.00/100.00, Fifth Round Value
Big Board Rank: TBD
Position Rank: TBD
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