Despite freakish talent he cannot see the big picture

I have never thought a hold out situation in sports ever benefits anyone. There are a lot of downsides all the way around but it’s easy for a fan to forget this is a business. It’s easy to look at a rookie and think this is an unproven commodity, just take what the organization is willing to pay and be grateful. However, there are rare occasions when I agree with a player (even a rookie) and agree with a hold out. San Francisco needs to step up to the plate and pay Michael Crabtree what it takes to get him onto the field.
San Francisco drafted Michael Crabtree 10th over-all in the 2009 draft. While he was the 2nd receiver taken in the draft behind Darrius Heyward Bey, most people would agree he should have been the first receiver drafted. Crabtree is coming off a second amazing season at Texas Tech where he won the Biletnikoff award two years in a row. He has the size, speed, skill, hands, playmaking ability and anything else great about a receiver you can say that had NFL scouts drooling.
Crabtree has the prototypical wide receiver frame standing 6’1” and weighing 215 lbs. In two seasons as a Texas Tech Red Raider, he amassed an incredible 231 receptions for 3,127 yards and 41 touchdowns. No, that wasn’t a typo. Sure, one might attribute those eye popping stats to the system he was in at Texas Tech. It seems that was the opinion of quarterback Graham Harrell who was shafted by the Heisman committee. However, anyone who has actually watched this kid play can’t help but be amazed by his ability.
Crabtree is a playmaker, plain and simple. His 40 time isn’t overly impressive at 4.55 seconds but it was definitely enough to blow by the competition in the Big 12. He has amazing hands, something that’s hard to teach at the NFL level, great instincts and is a good route runner. He seems to know exactly where defenders aren’t, consistently getting open and running away from the defense. He also steps up in a big game. This was more than evident when he caught 10 passes for 127 yards, including the game winning touchdown to knock off Texas last year.
Michael finds himself in a strange situation as a rookie. The word is that he was offered a decent contract. However, he has to be a little more than upset that he was passed over by Oakland who took a gamble with the speedy Darrius Heyward-Bey. While this is another talented receiver and one of the fastest men in the NFL, he doesn’t have anywhere near the stats that Crabtree had in college. He was then given a $38 million contract which had to come into play during Crabtree’s negotiations with the Niners. Needless to say, Oakland never should have given Heyward-Bey a $38 million contract but when one team sets the bar, it drives the price up for everyone else.
Whether Crabtree will ever suit up for San Francisco remains to be seen. The best case scenario right now is early September and some sources claim he’s ready to hold out the entire season and possible reenter next years draft. If this happens, he definitely is going to suffer. Not only will he probably drop further in the draft and lose a year of experience, there’s no way he’s going to see the same kind of money he would get now. That being said, there is no way this kid doesn’t turn into a stud in the NFL. Watch any video of his and watch the clean cuts, speed, vertical ability and great hands. His pure athleticism leads one to believe he could plan just about any position on the field.
San Francisco obviously knew that when they used their first round pick to snatch him up and coach Mike Singletary could barely contain his excitement when talking about him. So, why now are they willing to risk blowing that pick all together? If the Niners want to return to the old glory days, they need to build a team around some productive skill players. They already have a stud running back in Frank Gore. Adding an amazing receiver like Crabtree is only going to make this offense better. The Niners management needs to loosen up the purse strings and get this guy in a uniform fast. Either way, start buying Michael Crabtree rookie cards, uniforms, pictures and anything else you can get your hands on. It’s probably the best investment of 2009.