Weather precluded former Alabama State running back Isaiah Crowell from improving on his 40-yard dash at ASU's pro day Tuesday, but it didn't keep him from providing some insight into which NFL clubs have expressed interest in him of late. Crowell said the Cleveland Browns, Oakland Raiders and Baltimore Ravens have shown the most interest in him since his NFL Scouting Combine performance in Indianapolis last month.
"I have talked with the Browns and the Raiders, and the Ravens I have talked to several times," Crowell said.
All three of those teams are in a transition of sorts at the running back position. The Browns traded former first-round pick Trent Richardson to the Indianapolis Colts last year, opening the door not only for more competition at the position, but more salary investment, as well. The Raiders' top two rushers from last season, Rashad Jennings and Darren McFadden, are set to become free agents. The Ravensranked No. 30 in the NFL in rushing last year, and leading rusher Ray Rice followed his least productive season in five years with an embarrassing arrest.
It's unclear whether those three clubs were in attendance at Alabama State on Tuesday. But according to montgomeryadvertiser.com, Crowell's childhood favorite Atlanta Falcons would be the team he'd like to play for most.
Crowell, who was the 2011 SEC Freshman of the Year before being dismissed from Georgia on a firearms charge, wanted nothing more Tuesday than to show NFL scouts that he could run the 40-yard dash better than his disappointing 4.57-second combine clocking last month. Instead, his encore performance will have to wait.
"I had a good time (at the combine), I just felt like I could have done better," Crowell said. "If it wasn't raining, I probably would have clocked a 4.3. But it was raining, so I didn't think it would do me any good to do it."
A 4.3 is an awfully bold prediction just two weeks after a 4.57. That would be an improvement of more than a quarter of a second. Consider that the pro day 40 run by Buffalo linebacker Khalil Mack Tuesday, 4.55, created a buzz just in improving 0.10 seconds from his 4.65 combine clocking.
If his rescheduled 40-yard dash comes close to a 4.3, you can bet more than just three teams will be ringing his agent's phone.
*Follow Chase Goodbread on Twitter **@ChaseGoodbread.*
