CFL teams hoping to draft Devynn Cromwell will have to wait to see him on the field.
The uber-athletic Michigan State defensive back is scheduled for knee surgery on Monday after suffering a torn meniscus at his pro day on March 19. He won’t know until after he goes under the knife just how much rehab he’s facing.
“I’ll find out how the recovery is going to look once I wake up out of surgery. They could either repair my meniscus or potentially just kind of clean it up (depending on the severity of the tear),” Cromwell told 3DownNation at the CFL Combine.
“Low end, if they just go in and clean it up, I’m looking at maybe two months. High end, around five months (for a full repair).”
That’s the difference between missing training camp and sitting out until after Labour Day, which could influence how high teams are willing to select Cromwell in the 2026 CFL Draft. However, the circumstances that caused the injury to this year’s 14th-ranked prospect provide a compelling reason for rolling the dice early.
The native of Toronto, Ont., had just begun testing for NFL scouts in East Lansing and popped a 43-inch vertical jump before the result was erased by a foot fault. He would eventually settle for an official measurement of 40.5 inches, but something went wrong on the subsequent attempts.
“One of my jumps, I came down kind of weird on it,” he explained. “At first, I wasn’t too sure what that was. After I finished out, did my bench and my broad jump, the consensus was a torn meniscus.”
Cromwell, understandably, was unable to run the forty-yard dash, three-cone, or short shuttle due to his injury, opting out of positional drills as well. He still managed one mind-boggling feat, though, as he recorded an 11-foot, three-inch broad jump after suffering the setback.
That number would have tied for the best result by any player at the 2026 NFL Combine and came on one good leg. He is confident that other numbers would have been just as impressive had his knee remained intact.
“With my track background and my athletic ability in general, the forty was next, and I was super excited to go drop close to the 4.3s,” he teased. “I was thinking even high 4.2s, to be quite honest.”
Any other prospect making those assertions would probably get laughed out of the room, but Cromwell’s absurd athletic ability is no secret. It has been the five-foot-eleven, 200-pound defender’s calling card since he was in high school, a skill set that has allowed him to play for some of the most recognizable brands in college football.
NCAA schools first began to show interest in Cromwell when he blew up the testing at a U.S. prospects camp in Grade 11. However, issues with his transcripts stemming from incorrect course selection several years earlier initially rendered him ineligible to sign south of the border. That led him to commit to the University of Guelph, where he made an immediate impact.
In his first season with the Gryphons, he was named a second-team All-Canadian at halfback. That caught the attention of former Guelph defensive end Tavius Robinson, who blazed a trail from U Sports to Ole Miss a year prior.
“He’s helped me along this entire journey. I’ve hit him up with questions, and he’s always trying to help. I appreciate that a lot,” Cromwell said of the current Baltimore Raven.
“Having someone there to guide you along during the process, it helps so much. The second I got to Guelph and had my first season, he was hitting me up, like, ‘Hey, the coach at Ole Miss was talking about you.’ That kept my hopes alive.”
After two more successful seasons and a second-team OUA all-star honour in 2023, the NCAA came calling again, and Cromwell was able to follow in Robinson’s footsteps. He chose Texas Tech from a selection of eight Division I offers and made his way to Lubbock for the 2024 season.
“As much as I loved being at Guelph, I was always craving that something more. I’m always seeking uncomfortable situations where I can grow and be a better player at the end of the day. That’s the most important thing to me, and what I prioritize,” he said.
“It was hard in the sense that I’m pushing all these people and all of my past behind, but I know it’s for a better reason. It wasn’t the hardest decision, because I knew that’s what I wanted and what I’ve been looking for.”
Cromwell dressed for nine games and started twice at safety with the Red Raiders. He finished with 20 tackles, but suffered a labrum injury that required surgery and forced him to miss the final four contests.
Ironically, that injury would have prevented him from showing off his full athletic potential for CFL teams ahead of the 2025 CFL Draft — the same situation he finds himself in a year later. However, he was thrilled to learn that he was granted an additional year of eligibility due to ongoing lawsuits against the NCAA, choosing to defer his draft year and enter the transfer portal.
Michigan State offered him his next opportunity, but it didn’t amount to more playing time. He dressed for 12 games with the Spartans, but made just one start and saw only sparing action on defence, finishing with eight tackles.
Cromwell, who is in Edmonton to interview at the CFL Combine, knows CFL teams will have questions about why he was never a full-time starter, but he believes he has shown something intangible by pursuing opportunities south of the border.
“I didn’t have the role that I would have wanted, but at the end of the day, it’s not always up to me, and I’m going to do what’s best for the team,” he said. “I’m going to do what’s best for the players. I go in knowing that I’m gonna accept my role, but I’m always gonna give 100 percent, and I’m gonna strive to be better every single day.”
With his unique athletic traits and ability to play any position in the secondary, Cromwell fits the mould of a prospect who could have more success in the CFL than he did in the NCAA. Few teams will be dissuaded from buying that particular lottery ticket due to the current injury situation, but they’ll be waiting with bated breath to see how long they’ll need to wait to cash it in.
The 2026 CFL Draft is scheduled for Tuesday, April 28, 2026, at 7:00 p.m. EDT.
