NFL DRAFT
Leap of faith
WR Crabtree could prove too talented to pass up
By Bob McGinn of the Journal Sentinel
Posted: Apr. 24, 2009
Green Bay - Well-stocked in wide receivers, the Green Bay Packers appear primed to select another one, Texas Tech's Michael Crabtree, late Saturday afternoon if they stay put with the No. 9 pick in the first round of the National Football League draft.
Crabtree is the top-rated player on general manager Ted Thompson's board and, despite significant needs on both lines and at outside linebacker, it seems likely the Packers will stay true to their board provided Crabtree is available.
However, Crabtree could be taken as early as No. 4 by Seattle and perhaps at No. 7 by Oakland, which almost certainly will select a wide receiver.
The Packers also are extremely interested in trading out of the top 10, where the guaranteed money at No. 9 will be about $20 million. That probably would eliminate the chances of taking Crabtree but would give the Packers additional draft choices to reinforce the front seven in their new 3-4 defense.
Or, Thompson could avail himself of what might well be several opportunities to move up, although the chances are it would be for Crabtree.
Crabtree, 6 feet 1 inches and 215 pounds, would operate in similar fashion to Sterling Sharpe, their last true power receiver.
He was compared to Michael Irvin, Terrell Owens, Anquan Boldin, Braylon Edwards and Cris Carter by various personnel people.
"He's got rare wide-receiver skills," said Blake Beddingfield, scouting coordinator for the Tennessee Titans. "Not rare speed or rare size. Just rare receiving skills."
Could Crabtree bust?
"Only way he would bust out would be if he had an injury," Beddingfield said. "But I don't know how he would get there (No. 9)."
Crabtree's talent was evident in a Journal Sentinel poll this month in which 21 scouts with a national perspective were asked to name the best player in the draft. Linebacker Aaron Curry led with 10 votes but Crabtree was a close second with seven, and no other player got more than one.
If Crabtree slips to No. 9, it will be because a foot injury prevented teams from working him out, the fact that wide receiver is the deepest position in the draft and the unfavorable impression that he left on visits this month to Cleveland, St. Louis and Oakland.
It was at the combine in late February when doctors discovered a stress fracture in Crabtree's left foot that he didn't know was broken. On March 4, he had surgery in which a screw reportedly was inserted in the fifth metatarsal bone. The recovery time is eight to 10 weeks.
Attitude questions
Citing a source, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reported Thursday that the Browns were so put off by Crabtree's "world-revolves-around-me attitude" that coach Eric Mangini went looking for another receiver.
The Rams eliminated him from consideration after he turned off some of their officials with a similar approach, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch,
"He came across as a little goofy and kind of arrogant," said an executive in personnel for the Raiders. "Just a different guy."
Declaring for the draft two years early, the 21-year-old Crabtree made his announcement Jan. 13 during a news conference at an upscale hotel in his hometown of Dallas that was orchestrated by Deion Sanders.
Crabtree, a running quarterback in high school, scored 15 on the 50-question Wonderlic intelligence test. Sharpe scored 16 in 1988 when he was the seventh pick overall. Javon Walker, the Packers' last first-round wide receiver, scored 9 in 2002.
Walker, Sharpe and James Lofton, the last three wide receivers taken by the Packers in the first round, combined for 13 Pro Bowl appearances for Green Bay.
If Crabtree is the choice, Thompson undoubtedly will encounter flak from those who would argue he is wide-receiver happy, a la Matt Millen, the former general manager of the Detroit Lions who used top-10 picks on wide receivers Charles Rogers, Roy Williams and Mike Williams three years in a row.
In four drafts, Thompson has taken two in each for a total of eight, including three in the second round.
Crabtree's agent, Eugene Parker, also represents Greg Jennings, who is in line for a lucrative contract extension. Certainly, Crabtree would protect the Packers against contractual demands of Jennings or his eventual loss.
Donald Driver is 34 and still playing well but does have a $2.8 million roster bonus due in 2010 that might make 2009 his final season in Green Bay. Jordy Nelson probably would slip down a notch to No. 4 and there's the possibility that the Packers would try to trade James Jones over the weekend.
"The problem is, people kind of get their minds made up and all of a sudden you throw names out there on draft day and it's a big scramble," an AFC personnel director said Friday. "I don't see anybody giving up a third for either Nelson or Jones. Receivers are a dime a dozen."
Crabtree, an outstanding point guard with a 20.8-point scoring average, reportedly was offered a basketball scholarship by former Texas Tech coach Bob Knight.
Weak crop
Earlier in the week, President Bill Polian of the Indianapolis Colts, an NFL scout since 1978, called this the weakest draft he could remember.
"As you know, I never complain about the draft," Polian said. "But this one . . . whew."
Because there are so few impact players, the top half of the first round could become one of the most unpredictable ever. Several scouts said there's no such thing as a reach in this draft because almost nobody stands out.
If Crabtree is gone, there are several players whom the Packers would be more than content to draft. Heading that list are Jason Smith of Baylor and Andre Smith of Alabama, both of whom could start immediately at right tackle for Mark Tauscher, a player the Packers have no intention of re-signing.
Other options
The Packers also are high on Mississippi tackle Michael Oher. If it came down to the choice between Oher and Virginia tackle Eugene Monroe, the edge might go to Oher. The Packers have concerns about the dislocated left kneecap that Monroe suffered in 2006, but they're probably not severe enough to rule out taking him.
Thompson also has high regard for Southern California inside linebacker Rey Maualuga, although he isn't a consideration if the Packers remain at No. 9.
Like most teams, Green Bay attaches more value to Boston College nose tackle B.J. Raji than Louisiana State defensive end Tyson Jackson, who rank as the two leading base defensive linemen.
Executives for eight teams, however, told the Journal Sentinel that Raji tested positive for marijuana earlier at Boston College. Raji, according to sources, was up front with teams about his frequent use of marijuana, and it's an issue that is worrisome to Thompson.
Jackson would start immediately at left end but isn't a dynamic pass rusher.
The Packers don't appear to have any of the hybrid outside linebackers rated highly enough to take at No. 9. Several of those players, especially Tennessee's Robert Ayers, might become targets if they were to trade down in the 15 to 20 range.
Some other players who could tempt the Packers later on the first round and in the second would be outside linebacker Larry English of Northern Illinois and inside linebacker James Laurinaitis of Ohio State.