Written By: Ronny Dhillon
Texas Tech wideout Michael Crabtree has learned he has a stress fracture in his left foot that requires surgery and the timetable for his return will now be 10 weeks. Even before this news, Crabtree said he wasn’t going to run the 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis this week, instead was going to in Lubbock, Texas because he was nursing an injury to his right ankle.
This latest injury on Crabtree should raise a red flag to G.M’s around the league but don’t expect his draft stock to now plummet. Crabtree was a lock to be a top five pick by many draft experts, including myself but shouldn’t drop out of the top ten. My original spot for him was at pick #4 to the Seattle Seahawks because they had a huge problem with keeping receivers healthy in 2008. If they decide to pass on Crabtree look for him to fall to either the Bengals at #6 or the Raiders at #7.
Cincinnati may lose both T.J Houshmandzadeh and Chad Johnson this off-season so replacing them with Michael Crabtree makes a lot of sense. If he falls to Oakland, we could be seeing the next great trio in the NFL with Crabtree joining JaMarcus Russell and Darren McFadden in the silver and black.
The main reason I can’t see Crabtree falling out of the top ten is because he’s just that much better than the second best receiver in the 2009 draft class. The next best receiver may be Missouri’s Jeremy Maclin, Maryland’s Darrius Heyward Bey, or Florida’s Percy Harvin. While all three of these will be first round picks, non can make an early impact in the league like Crabtree will.
So surely this news of Crabtree’s foot could seem as a big deal, but it’s nothing G.M’s should lose sleep over. Michael Crabtree is a big-time, play-making receiver who will shine in the NFL. I expect him to have a similar career to Calvin Johnson early on. And the biggest reason I have so much faith in his abilities, he’s clutch when the game’s on the line.
This latest injury on Crabtree should raise a red flag to G.M’s around the league but don’t expect his draft stock to now plummet. Crabtree was a lock to be a top five pick by many draft experts, including myself but shouldn’t drop out of the top ten. My original spot for him was at pick #4 to the Seattle Seahawks because they had a huge problem with keeping receivers healthy in 2008. If they decide to pass on Crabtree look for him to fall to either the Bengals at #6 or the Raiders at #7.
Cincinnati may lose both T.J Houshmandzadeh and Chad Johnson this off-season so replacing them with Michael Crabtree makes a lot of sense. If he falls to Oakland, we could be seeing the next great trio in the NFL with Crabtree joining JaMarcus Russell and Darren McFadden in the silver and black.
The main reason I can’t see Crabtree falling out of the top ten is because he’s just that much better than the second best receiver in the 2009 draft class. The next best receiver may be Missouri’s Jeremy Maclin, Maryland’s Darrius Heyward Bey, or Florida’s Percy Harvin. While all three of these will be first round picks, non can make an early impact in the league like Crabtree will.
So surely this news of Crabtree’s foot could seem as a big deal, but it’s nothing G.M’s should lose sleep over. Michael Crabtree is a big-time, play-making receiver who will shine in the NFL. I expect him to have a similar career to Calvin Johnson early on. And the biggest reason I have so much faith in his abilities, he’s clutch when the game’s on the line.
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