Lions take Las Vegan Tyrell Crosby in 5th round of NFL draft

Tyrell Crosby was projected to go as high as the second round.

Then on the second day of the NFL draft, the second and third rounds came and went.

And so did the fourth round Saturday. Finally, with the No. 153 overall selection, the Detroit Lions took the offensive tackle from Oregon and Green Valley High School in the fifth round.

“It’s frustrating just because my personal opinion, I think I’m the best, well, one of the best offensive tackles from the 2018 draft,” Crosby said. “But though it kind of sucks, at the same time it’s just an awesome feeling to know that I’m a part of such a great organization with great history. Wherever I went, I ended up in Detroit and I’m so thankful for it.”

Crosby was the second local player drafted. Texas-El Paso guard Will Hernandez, who attended Chaparral High, went early in the second round to the New York Giants. No other players with Las Vegas ties were taken.

UNLV defensive tackle Mike Hughes Jr. (6 feet 2 inches, 315 pounds) signed as an undrafted free agent with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Hughes, who went to Palo Verde High, was second-team All-Mountain West last season after making 53 tackles, including seven for loss and two sacks.

“It means everything to me,” Hughes said. “It’s unbelievable, and all I asked was to go where I was wanted. All I wanted was somebody to believe in me. They called me right after the draft.”

Crosby becomes teammates with Lions safety Miles Killebrew, who went to Foothill High and Southern Utah.

“When he got drafted, him coming from a small school like SUU, honestly it was awesome for me to see just because he’s a public school kid from this area,” Crosby said on a conference call. “When you hear high school football in Nevada, you think Bishop Gorman High School, the private school here. It’s exciting seeing public school kids just come out and show you don’t need to go to a private school out here.”

Crosby (6-5, 309) was named the Pac-12 Offensive Lineman of the Year by the conference’s defensive linemen after he did not allow a quarterback to be sacked or hit last season.

“It’s humbling knowing that your peers think that highly of you,” Crosby said.

Multiple draft projections had him going on the second day, either the second or third round. That included the forecast by NFL.com.

But NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock indicated on TV that Crosby could have slid in the draft because of concussion concerns. Crosby wouldn’t answer how many concussions he has had when asked on the teleconference.

“Really, just talking to my agent and stuff and we were both kind of just confused listening to it,” Crosby said. “Throughout the whole combine process, Senior Bowl, team visits and all that, every team said I was healthy and ready to go if I had a game tomorrow. … They were just trying to find a reason.”

Contact Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com. Follow @markanderson65 on Twitter.