Get to Know Packers Undrafted Free Agent OT Coy Cronk

Coy Cronk was a 40-game starter at Indiana before missing most of the last two seasons.

Author:
Bill Huber
Publish date:
May 3, 2021 1:31 PM EDT

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Coy Cronk’s in the NFL. It’s just not the way he planned on it happening.

A 40-game starting left tackle at Indiana, his 2019 season ended with a major ankle injury. Given a fifth-year of eligibility, he transferred to Iowa, started at right tackle but missed most of the season after aggravating the injury. He could have come back for the 2021 season but opted out. He went undrafted and signed with the Green Bay Packers.

“I decided six years (of college football) is probably a little too much," Cronk told the Journal and Courier. “I had the opportunity to play a lot of games. It's my time to try to go to the NFL.”

In high school, Cronk was a linebacker in football, catcher in baseball and wrestler. He grew into a 270-pound offensive tackle and chose home-state Indiana among a few offers. As a true freshman, he won the starting job at left tackle and earned Freshman All-American honors. How did he pull that off?

“Bubble gum and Band-Aids,” his father, Nick Cronk, told Hawk Central. “He didn’t know what the hell was going on out there half the time. It was just compete and fight.”

Cronk wound up starting 40 consecutive games. That streak came to a painful halt during the fourth game of his senior season, when he suffered a broken ankle.

“I knew this was not good and my heart just sank,” Hoosiers coach Tom Allen said. “And I was just sick, sick, sick, because I knew pretty much right then it wasn’t going to be a good outcome.”

Carted off the field, the team captain told his teammates: “I just told them to keep going, keep fighting. Don’t worry about me, it’s my leg, I’m not gonna die.” Cronk shifted into he role of the coach and hobbled onto the field for coin tosses.

“It’s hard not to wake up with a smile every day,” Cronk told The Hoosier Network. “I’ve been part of three years of really close losses, two losing seasons, I guess three losing seasons, two years of not going to a bowl game. Those are never fun, but now you just wake up with a smile on your face. Just feel thankful to be part of the program, get to be in the building.”

Given a fifth year of eligibility, Cronk took his diploma and transferred to Iowa, where coach Kirk Ferentz needed a right tackle to replace Tristan Wirfs. Cronk won the job and started the first two games before aggravating the injury and sitting out the rest of the season. He said he could have played in the Hawkeyes’ bowl game but it was canceled.

Cronk measured 6-foot-4 1/8 and 318 pounds with 34 1/4-inch arms at pro day. He did not test at pro day.

Why he’s got a chance with the Packers: The Packers have only three offensive tackles on the roster with starters David Bakhtiari and Billy Turner joined by former undrafted free agent Yosh Nijman. There are plenty of other options, including Day 3 draft picks Royce Newman of Ole Miss and Cole Van Lanen of Wisconsin, but those players might ultimately be better suited at guard. If Cronk can stay healthy and get back to his 2018 form, he’s got a chance.

Here’s a snippet from his NFL Draft Bible scouting report: Battle-tested and experienced, Cronk has been through the ringer and has seen it all. Cronk is a patient blocker who frames well in pass protection, while also doing a solid job maintaining leverage in the run game. However, there are some obvious limitations to Cronk’s game. His physical profile is underwhelming across the board. Length and athleticism could give him a lot of trouble working on the edge.