Jack Crawford

BIOGRAPHY

Jack Crawford was born on September 7, 1988, in London, England. He is a defensive tackle for the Atlanta Falcons in the NFL.

In his early years, Crawford attended St. Augustine Preparatory School where he found success as a defensive end and tight end in his last year, being rated as the fifteenth defensive end in the nation by Scout.com, registering 12 touchdown passes and receiving All-area honors. He also practiced basketball and soccer.

After he finished high school, Crawford accepted a scholarship from Pennsylvania State University where as a true freshman, he played both defensive tackle and tight end, recording 4 tackles and 2 passes defended. The next year, he replaced Aaron Maybin and started all games at defensive end, ranking ninth in the Big Ten Conference in tackles for loss with 15 and tenth in sacks with 5.5. As a junior, he started 7 games and recorded 14 tackles, where 5 of them were for loss and 2 sacks while in his last year he started all games, posting 40 tackles, with 7 for a loss, 6.5 sacks,6 passes defended and one fumble recovery. 

After he graduated from college, Crawford entered the 2012 NFL Draft where he was selected in the fifth round by the Oakland Raiders. As a rookie, he was a backup player, appearing in 4 games and registering 5 tackles and the next year, he played all along the defensive lines, appearing in 15 games while recording 12 tackles, one for a loss, and 2 quarterback pressures. He was waived on August 30, 2014, and on September 2, Crawford was signed as a free agent by the Dallas Cowboys, who had scouted him during joint training camp practices with the Oakland Raiders. In 2015, he played in every game with one start at both defensive tackle and defensive end, finishing with 18 tackles where 3 of them were for a loss, 4 sacks, 10 quarterback pressures and one pass defended. Crawford re-signed with the Cowboys on a one-year contract on April 4, 2016, where made a career-high 10 starts, mostly at left defensive end, posting 27 tackles, 3.5 sacks, and 12 quarterback pressures, finishing fifth on the team. 

On March 9, 2017, Crawford signed a three-year contract with the Atlanta Falcons where he was a backup defensive, appearing in 4 games with 5 tackles and 3 quarterback hurries. During the 2018 season, Crawford had the best season of his career where he finished the season with six sacks, 35 combined tackles, one forced fumble, and one interception.