Michael Crabtree

                          RUSHING                            RECEIVING                            FANTASY

(+)Coach Harbaugh has stated that Crabtree has the best hands of any player he has ever seen

(+) Alex Smith has been looking for Crabtree more and more often as his targets has increased each year

(+) Crabtree had 4 or more catches in 11 games last season including his last 7 games of the season

(+)With the addition of new fire power (Manningham & Moss) the 49ers offense will be much improved and defenses will not be able to key in on Crabtree

(+) With Gore aging the 49ers are not going to rely on the run as much this season

(-) Coach Harbaugh has publicly stated that Randy Moss is the best wide receivers of the 49ers

(-) All the additional weapons to both the passing and running games will make it hard for Crabtree to see 114 targets again next season

(-) Crabtree is a true possession receiver who lacks big play ability and therefore lacks big upside

(-) Scored only 4 TD’s last year, 3 of which were against St. Louis (2 in week 17 thanks a lot), the other was against Cleveland

(-) Alex Smith is still his QB and has yet to prove himself as consistent which hurts Crabtree

Crabtree’s first year in the NFL started off with a bang.  Oh, no wait, it didn’t.  In fact, it might have to be considered one of the slowest starts to such a highly anticipated career in recent memory.  His 5-game holdout to begin the season turned out to be a piss-poor decision, yet Coach Mike Singletary was undeterred by his absence enough to still give him a starting job right out of the gate.  So what did the Crabby rookie do with his opportunity?  Not nearly as much as expected, as Crabtree failed to record a single 100-yard game over the final 11 games of the season and caught just two TD passes in the process.  However, he did exhibit his rare talents and exceptional size enough to be targeted by QB Alex Smith almost 8 times a game, so it’s clear that the promise of Michael Crabtree still weighs heavily in the minds of football fans and fantasy owners alike.  It may not have been the explosion the NFL world was bargaining for, but he still showed enough potential to keep us all on the edge of our seats come 2010.

~  Ranked 65th in the league with 72.5 WR fantasy points (basic scoring system)

~  Tied for 96th in the league with 2 receiving touchdowns

~  Ranked 60th in the league with 625 receiving yards

~  Ranked 36th in the league with 56.8 receiving yards per game

~  Tied for 70th in the league with 48 receptions

~  Tied for 63rd in the league with 86 targets

~  Tied for 51st in the league with 10 receptions of 20+ yards

~  Tied for 78th in the league with 27 catches for first downs

~  Tied for 107th in the league with 196 yards after the catch (YAC)

~  Set career best in all major statistical receiving categories

(Sung to the lyrics of “‘O Christmas Tree”) Oh Crabby Tree, Oh Crabby Tree, How Lovely Is Your Upside…  2010 promises to be a much better year for the young 49ers receiver for a bunch of reasons.  First, he’ll actually get to work with the team and QB Alex Smith during the offseason instead of rehabbing and sitting by the phone waiting for the ‘Niners front office to cave in to his demands.  Second, the coaches will have routes drawn up in the playbook made specifically for him now that they know exactly what they are dealing with.  Third, the emergence of TE Vernon Davis will have defenses scrambling to find the best matchups, an ingredient which will open the field more for Crabtree to roam.  Another couple of components that look in favor of a possible breakout are that fellow starter Josh Morgan is a good enough WR to command the opposing team’s attention, while the addition of speedster Ted Ginn Jr. will extend defenses past the middle of the field, which happens to be Michael’s comfort zone.  Add all this up and you’re looking at solid fantasy year for #15, likely in the middle WR2 range.

~ A full, healthy offseason with the team will make all the difference, and his chemistry with Alex Smith should be rolling

~ His skill level is off the charts, and if used properly, he will have every opportunity to put up WR1-type numbers

~ The 2009 holdout and foot injury are both in the past

~ How committed to the run are the 49ers?

Michael does not have a Twitter account.  The official Team Twitter account comes through here:  49ers Player Tweets

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Check out Michael Crabtree's EA Sports NCAA 9-like college stats his two years as a Texas Tech Raider. 41 TDs in his first two seasons as a WR (Crab was a QB in high school):

In October of ’09, Crabtree ended an extended holdout to start his rookie season by signing a six-year, $32 million contract that included $17 million guaranteed.  In addition, another $8 million is available through incentives, plus he can void the contract down to five years if he reaches some “unlikely to be earned” Pro Bowl and playing-time triggers.  Yet another clause in his contract says that $15 million of Crabtree’s available escalators is based on him taking part in at least 90% of annual offseason workouts.  The year-to-year details are listed below:

2010 – $2.287 million

2011 - $3.875 million

2012 - $3.5 million

2013 - $4.5 million

2014 - $3.5 million (Voidable Year)

2015 – Free Agent

Josh Morgan is the handcuff to Crabtree, though he dropped 2 easy TDs last year and ended up to be a huge disappointment

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• 2010 NFL Draft

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