Damarea Crockett declares for the NFL Draft

After sending a few ambiguous tweets since the Liberty Bowl, Missouri running back Damarea Crockett cleared the air by declaring for the 2019 NFL Draft.

Crockett, a junior, finishes his Missouri career with 2,252 rushing yards and 19 touchdowns on 380 carries for 5.9 yards per attempt. He added 137 receiving yards and two touchdowns on 21 receptions.

Crockett’s best year was his freshman season in which he ran for 1,062 yards and ten touchdowns on 153 carries at 6.9 yards per attempt. He never reached those highs again, as he never played a full season in his three-year tenure. Crockett was suspended for the season finale in 2016, then only played in six games in 2017. An ankle injury kept him out of two games in 2018, where he finished with 709 rushing yards and eight total touchdowns.

Crockett’s decision brings to mind that of Henry Josey following the 2013 season. Josey — who went undrafted — recovered from a traumatic knee injury to rush for over 1,000 yards in his redshirt junior year. He declared after the season, but after that injury, it made sense. With Crockett’s injury history, plus the emergence of Larry Rountree and Tyler Badie, this decision isn’t a huge surprise.

His NFL Draft projection is unclear; DraftScout.com has him as the 18th overall running back in the 2020 class. Where he fits into the 2019 class is unknown.