Titans select Dane Cruikshank in 5th round of NFL Draft

The Arizona Wildcat has a new home

With the 152nd pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, the Tennessee Titans selected Arizona Wildcats defensive back Dane Cruikshank.

Cruikshank, who wound up spending three years at Arizona, was slated to go anywhere from the fourth to seventh round in most mock drafts.

He met with a handful of teams including the Titans, Los Angeles Rams, Los Angeles Chargers, Oakland Raiders, Denver Broncos, New Orleans Saints, Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers and Cincinnati Bengals in the pre-draft process.

Entering the Arizona program as a corner from Citrus College (Glendora, California), Cruikshank decided it was best to redshirt given the learning curve and his spot on the depth chart.

He spent a year as the full-time starting corner and held his own ground well. But as a redshirt senior, the staff suddenly moved him to the spur safety position in fall camp, where he excelled as a tackler and improved his coverage skills.

The 6-foot-2, 206 pound safety ended his career at Arizona with 135 tackles (seven for loss), 12 pass break ups and five interceptions as a two-year starter.

Cruikshank’s athleticism at the NFL Combine started to shine some light on his name, and he began to rise up draft boards ever since.

He is an extremely versatile prospect that can fit into any scheme, and should do well developing with the Titans.

The last Wildcat to be drafted in the fifth round or higher was Ka’Deem Carey in 2014. Cruikshank is also the first Arizona player to be draft as a whole since 2016.

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