Texas Tech receiver Michael Crabtree, the consensus top player at his position, will undergo surgery to insert a screw into a stress fracture in his right foot. He will miss approximately 10 weeks, according to the NFL Network.
That means Crabtree will not be able to work out prior to the draft. There have been questions about Crabtree's speed. He would have had a chance to alleviate those concerns at his pro day. But, now, teams will not have an opportunity get an accurate read.
When asked about his speed yesterday, Crabtree said, "There's always going to be questions. I think I'll answer them all. So I'm looking forward to answering that question."
Crabtree will not get a chance to answer that question, so his game film will have to speak for itself. So which team is going to draft Crabtree now with a top-10 pick?
The Chiefs have the No. 3 pick, followed by the Seahawks, Browns, Bengals, Raiders, Jaguars and Packers.
If Crabtree falls to No. 10, I believe the 49ers would be very interested. He is the only receiver the 49ers would consider with that pick. Jeremy Maclin (
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Today is the first day of workouts inside Lucas Oil Stadium, and
But Smith is part of a top-heavy group of tackles that seem to be closely bunched. Eugene Monroe (
Andre Smith's refusal to work out could mean that the other three move up a notch or two in the minds of NFL teams. Smith said he showed up for the combine at 332 pounds after being up around 345. I spoke with one scout who said Smith's playing weight should be 310 pounds.
* * *
The media is not allowed to watch the workouts, which are taking place right now. However, tomorrow there will be a group of reporters selected to provide pool reporters on the quarterbacks and wide receivers. I have made myself available to take part.
* * *
Hmmm, umm YES if Crabtree falls that far. Can you say Tim Lincecum all over again? Everyone talked themselves into passing on him for one reason or another. Crabtree is a dominant force, end of story. I don't need to see him run a meaningless 40 time to know that. If he falls to 10 the niners should have their pick in with 14:59 left.
Matt, just curious. Approximately how many reporters are there this week?
Matt. I thought all the workouts were on NFL Network ? You said the media was not allowed to watch ?
Matt, NOW i'm starting to get excited- IF we got Crabtree, which hole could we fill in the second round? by then the top 4 OTs will be gone, right? do you think we get a safety then? or is that just not enough bulk for Singletary's philosophy - ie, you have to come out of the first 2 rounds with an o-lineman or d-line/passrusher, right?
If Crabtree is there at #10, I hope the Niners take a chance on him. I have hoped for building the trenches or pass rush at that pick all along untill today. Please pass on him 1-9!
You know who else I think would be a late round steal? Bear Pascoe-tight end out of Fresno State. If they don't re-sighn Bajema, he would be an awsome pick. he played tight end and all special team snaps for the Bulldogs, and he is pretty athletic. What do you think Matt and friends?
I'm surprised about your assessment on the type of Wr's the 9ers are looking for. Beyond Crabtree's great talent, don't the 9ers have enough possession receivers? Maclin is a true deep threat that this team has lacked, and he can spread the field to compliment our run game. I'm not advocating drafting him, I was just surprised that you attributed Maclin's thin frame (but still 200 pounds) to the reason why we wouldn't consider him.
I think the bigger story is A. Smith. Monroe seems to be the safest Lt of the bunch, while Jason Smith has the most upside. However, A. Smith and Oher appear to be the natural maulers to stick out there at RT. Having A. Smith next to Rachal would be a dream come true, but I'm wondering what the fall out will be from his decision. Previously, I doubt anyone felt that the niners would have a chance at him. Now, are there major work ethic concerns? How scared should scouts be? Are we looking at a Branch type plummet? I have to believe that A. Smith was one of the highest rated players on the Niners board. Updates on the fall out would be appreciated.
I like Bear a lot as a prospect. However, I think we have found our blocking Te in Sean Ryan. He seems to be a little more versatile than Bajema and he will be cheap to resign. I would rather use a late draft pick on a Fb like Quinn than adding another te to the mix. That being said, I really hope Bear excels at the next level.
Question: I thought all the workouts were on NFL Network ? You said the media was not allowed to watch ?
My response: Well, we're allowed to watch the workouts on TV, but we're not allowed in there to watch live. The one and only time some media members are allowed will be tomorrow. Any suggestions on which QB I should try to follow? (I can only pick one.) --Matt M.
MM...Raiders released GIbril Wilson yesterday. I know Scot said we probably already have our starting safety on the team but any chance the niners go after Wilson? Seems like a good fit, Wilson is from the bay area and would only have to cross the bridge.
Josh Freeman
Seems like top 10 WR are always busts no matter their college career.
Nate Davis!
Nate Davis!
Interesting developments Crabtree would be a great snag at ten -(could there be attractive trades being offered if that occurs?) -gotta feel A Smith move was boneheaded if he drops to ten(how many millions would he lose?) still think he will be picked higher than ten slot ! All interesting conjecture..I've seen speculation M Jenkins could be there... who knows? By the by Matt I presume you know that many of us couldn't connect with this site this morning!
Rhett Bomar. I know a lot of people on here are high on Nate Davis but for my money Bomar is the best non-first round QB of the bunch. He is very good on the move and has an excellent arm.
Comment: By the by Matt I presume you know that many of us couldn't connect with this site this morning!
My response: I could not get on the site, either. Thankfully, after I alerted my office, the problem was quickly solved. --Matt M.
Looks like the TE and OL are finishing up.
Jason Smith is making himself a lot of cash this weekend. Andre Smith, otoh, is losing a lot. Monroe has easily jumped ahead of him.
Jared Cook has won the annual "TE workout warrior" by posting the best in the 40, BJ, and Vertical.
Freeman is going to do very well tomorrow.
This Combine type stuff seems like something that would suit him well. His measureables(6'6 248) already has scouts drooling.
QB track-how about Mike Reilly or Chase Holbrook two guys who could go in later rounds which is where the 9ers are most likely to make that move -unless something unexpected occurs ofcourse! I can't resist- why don't we just wait and get Greg Micheli as UDFA now that would be coup IMHO! Oh one last thing here did any of you guys hear the NFL Network Combine guys trashing Vernon Davis when they thought the mikes were off !???
Matt, I think Seattle takes him.
They are desperate for young talent and depth at the WR position. If he falls any further, Al Davis won't pass him up at 7. He isn't the typical Davis burner(a good comp for Crabtree is Boldin) but they also need depth and talent at WR.
I hope the McC keeps his ears wide open and finds out what other coaches and successful GM's think of the players available in this years draft! With NO HELP from the HC or OC coaching positions about the needs at the offensive side of the ball, McC has his hands full!
But one thing is for sure! You'll see McC taking a more out front position when it comes to talking about the needs in that area! Mr. Sing destroyed his chance by talking about Vick the way he did. And also I'm sure Dr. Daddy York doesn't want to call out the firefighters again to put out the fires this inexperienced HC starts! That's why I think McC will be the man during this Combine and draft, good or bad!
McC and little Jed will certainly make things sound from time to time like Mr. Sing has thoughts about things, but believe me, this guy is on a short leash and thank God! The more he opens his mouth, the more trouble 49er fans know their in!
Agreed. Consider him a citizen of the Pacific Northwest... he can go ahead and contact his Realtor for houses in Bellevue.
Jerry Rice wasn't fast either coming out of Mississippi Valley. But he caught every ball in sight. Crabtree's collegiate performance is no different. He would indeed be a gift at 10.
You think Coach Singletary is on a short leash ? God help em' because the Lion at the end of that rope isn't tame!
Track Rhett Bohmar
Track Rhett Bohmar
I agree Crabtree is comparable to Boldin. After he catches the ball he delivers the blow to the defensive back, not the other way around. I really like Crabtree but I'd still prefer to see one of the tackles fall to the 9ers.
Matt, follow Nate Davis. He's my later round steal for the 9ers.
I'm not much of a fan of Crabtree...Draft Everette Brown at #10. He obviously won't be around when during our next pick. Why do we need another WR anyway? We have Jason Hill and Josh Morgan: two young WRs that will soon be great for the Forty Niners.
Mark Sanchez, please. After Stafford and Sanchez, none of the other QB prospects look particularly interesting. I thought both Harrell and Bomar pretty much stunk up the SrBowl.
Can't imagine that Crabtree would fall to 10! We should be so lucky.
Crabtree is not on Calvin Johnson's level in terms of physical tools but I believe he has proven a heck of a lot more as a player at the collegiate level. If he is available at #10, we should take him, period. He is NOT a possession receiver, he is a game-changing weapon. He plays faster than his 40 time. Drafting for 40 times gets you players like Brandon Williams, Rashaun Woods, and Derrick Hamilton. This guy is the epitome of the type of player you want on your team. The type of guy who just stands out as better than everybody around him once the game starts. The kind of guy where somebody who knows nothing about football can watch a game he is playing in and just immediately take notice of him. I will be thrilled if we get him, because he would look pretty damn good in a Niner uniform.
Sanchez is a wildcard. He could go anywhere from 3rd to 20th. After Stafford, Sanchez, Freeman, and Davis, this QB class is weak. I believe Stafford isn't working out, so one of those 3 guys would be good to follow.
Rhett Bohmar is a guy who has been under the radar in terms of QB's. But I've been hearing that he is the guy who should be a great pick as a QB who can sit and learn for a year or two with tremendous upside
Bomar is probably the 5th QB off the board and he needs a ton of work.
He struggled to take snaps under center and dropback at the Senior Bowl practices. I'm just not interested in the QB's outside of the top 4.
Matt – hate to change the Crabtree subject here, but this is getting ridiculous.
Can't Singletary just say no to the media once and for all to this ex-convict?
People need to put the Vick thing 6 feet under.
It ain't happening. Vick is done for 2009 season imo, no way he comes out of prison and Goodell automatically reinstates him. I'd be shocked.
If the 49ers are really looking to upgrade, then their eyes will be on Sanchez tomorrow morning.
If any team wastes a draft pick on Rhet Bomar they should fire their scouting people. The kid has tools but the word on the street is he is a tool. Scouts should know that if I know it.
"Comment: By the by Matt I presume you know that many of us couldn't connect with this site this morning!
My response: I could not get on the site, either. Thankfully, after I alerted my office, the problem was quickly solved. --Matt M."
It wasn't a total loss...Lowell Cohn's blog was offline too :).
Why would the Raiders, Jags and Packers ALL pass on Crabtree and leave him for the 49ers? (and all the other teams in the top 10?)
Jags and Packers might but not Oakland.
He isn't falling past 7th.
Please follow Sanchez. He seems to have all the qualities Singletary is looking for. Very intriguing prospect.
Matt, Cliff Brunt is leaving nonsense garbage on Yahoo! can you please confirm or deny ths- "San Francisco coach Mike Singletary said Vick deserves the chance to play in the league, and believes he will be successful if he returns. He wouldn’t say if the 49ers would pursue him.
“He’s still under contract, you can’t really talk to him or have any contact with him,” Singletary said. “Right now, we’re just going to look at the quarterbacks we have and go from there.”
Is this just a case of east coast bias? Where the writer has no idea about the team.
Matt, if you get a chance to follow a QB I would vote for someone expected to go in the 4th or 5th round. That is where I would like to see the 49ers pickup a young guy to develop for the future.
Thanks, and as always, keep up the good work!
Seattle might hesitate to pull the trigger on Crabtree given their history with receiver injuries.
Comment: can you please confirm or deny ths- "San Francisco coach Mike Singletary said Vick deserves the chance to play in the league . . ?"
My response: You mean, something like this?
http://blog.pressdemocrat.com/49ers/2009/02/niners-no-interest-in-michael-vick.html
--Matt M.
Here's another one, issued by the Niners today:
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http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/02/21/SPL2162BNJ.DTL
Since when does being a "possession receiver" become a negative? You can still be a game changer. Crabtree isn't a burner, but he is one of the top prospects in this draft. There is no reason to make him out to be something different. He is a big body that uses his positioning well and has exceptional hands. He reminds me a lot of Boldin. But it doesn't really matter because there is no way in hell he slips to our draft spot. He is just too good of a prospect to make it to ten.
drafting a wideout at 10 is brain damage. Fellas, name 10 wideouts in the last 30 years drafted in the top ten to earn there dollars? Name 5..... We need trench warriors. not another flame out on the outside. It's got to be an OT. then pass rusher, Wide outs and getting the "dirty sanchez' are not luxury's at this point.....and getting a dirty sanchez is something you wanna give not get..
The 49ers need a few other positions filled before wide receiver. The young receivers they have are good, and seem to get better the more they get a chance to play. Hill can't throw deep, anyway.
At this point I'd prefer them to draft a lineman, first. Either a great prospect at offensive tackle, or a great nose tackle would benefit them the most. If none available, a pass rushing DE, or a fast, coverage CB would be well worth the pick.
Of course, McCloughan has to GET IT RIGHT THIS TIME.
Looks like Andre Smith might fall into our laps.
Yeah, Jason Smith's stock is soaring and he's really taking advantage of Andre Smith being M.I.A.
I doubt Andre will fall all the way to 10. Someone will trade up before he drops that far. Although it would be great if he does land in SF's spot (I'm still leaning towards Raji myself).
Andre Smith dropping out is a god send, however I wonder if Crabtree dropping out gives us one less buffer to get to Andre Smith. I either want one of the four OTs or Raji. Hopefully this is the last time we are picking this high for a while so I hope we dont blow it.
P.S....does anyone know the positions of need for the
9 teams drafting before us?
Thats all we need.....a OL that is to afraid to step up in front of his peers. Even if he wasnt going to run or workout. He should have stayed and participated in the interviews. This does not smell good niner fans. I dont like it. I would much rather beef up the pass rush. The other team cant win when their QB's are looking through their ear hole in their helmets. The offensive line did better in the second half. Add a killer pass rush and this team is a playoff team. Go niners.
#1 Lions – QB, OT – Safer bet OT - Eugene Monroe
#2 Rams – OT – Jason Smith
#3 Chefs – QB, OT – Mark Sanchez {sorry Niners}
#4 Hawks – WR, OT – Michael Crabtree
#5 Browns – S, DB, LB – Aaron Curry {the Jags will be pissed}
#6 Bungles – DE, LB – Everette Brown
#7 Raidas – OT – Michael Oher {there goes the top three OTs}
#8 Jags – LB, DE – Malcolm Jenkins {thanks to the Browns}
#9 Packers – DE – Brian Orakpo
#10 Niners – DE, OT, LB – Stafford looking anxious by the phone... oh no, please no, don't do it McGM, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.... Goddell steps up to the podium.... "Ehm, there has been a trade, the San Francisco 49ers have agreed to trade their 10th overall pick with Denver's 12th pick, 3rd round, and 4th round choices in this year's draft. The Denver Broncos select B.J. Raji, Defensive Tackle, Boston College."
There you have it. Discuss.
Andre Smith.....punks his bama teammates by talking to an agent before the Sugar Bowl and their line looks like a sieve..
Now it sounds like he is Mr Balloon man. And refuses show his stuff off at the combine, is this normal for a lineman....this does not sound like a Coach Sing player does it?
Is there not at least 15 to 18 blue chippers in this years draft? This is including the two QB's Sanchez and Stafford.
I think we are going to get a good if not great trench warrior at 10 and it's not gonna be Andre "I will steal your money" Smith...I hope.
If that best player available is anything more than churl munch for the masses, then we must take crabtree if we pick at#10 and he drops that far.
Hope the phrasing earlier didn't confuse- Crabtree would be a snag for lucrative trade material -OT or Pass rusher in the first round (I would be tempted if M Jenkins CB were there -another story)-lately Oher has been sliding could A Smith blunder cause him to rise above 10th -stay tuned!
Your challenge to name 10 WR's in the last 30 years who've earned their money sounded fun. Here are nine since the 78 draft and their overall draft position. The jury is still out on WR's drafted in '05 and beyond.
A few of these nine could be arguable.
8 Plaxico Burress
3 Andre Johnson
3 Larry Fitzgerald
6 Torry Holt
1 Keyshawn Johnson
6 Tim Brown
7 Sterling Sharpe
1 Irving Fryar
6 James Lofton
Andre Smith is dropping like a rock. Mid first rounder at this point. He p'd off a lot of teams today.
My tentative top 10 mock, not official:
1. Lions - Stafford..i think they use the ATL formula of last year. Grab the QB now and use the 2nd pick on a LT. Baker was no Clady or Long but he's good. Maybe an Oher(who was up and down today) or Britton could be the pick.
2. Rams - J. Smith - LOCK
3. Chiefs - Curry
4. Seahawks - Crabtree
5. Browns - Jenkins
6. Bengals - Monroe
7. Raiders - Raji - they need a dominant guy up front
8. Jags - Maualuga
9. Packers - Brown
10. 49ers - Sanchez - seems to have the "moxy" Singletary is looking for and they don't have to rush him right away. Hill is serviceable but they really need a potential future guy.
John from HB Cali issued the challenge so here you are. All WRs taken in the last 30 years with a top ten pick, except one. It should be noted that there wasn't a WR taken in the first 10 picks every year and it seems that the success rate is about 45-55 pass/fail, not bad when compared to some other positions, and thats with Detoit messing up the curve a bit.
Calvin Johnson
Braylon Edwards
Larry Fitzgerald
Roy Williams
Andre Johnson
Plaxico Burress
Torry Holt
Keyshawn Johnson
Terry Glenn
Joey Galloway
Herman Moore
Tim Brown
Sterling Sharpe
Michael Irvin - taken 11th, close enough
Irving Fryar
Wes Chandler
James Lofton
IT SEEMS THAT MR MATT MAIOOCCO LOVED MY POST SO MUCH THAT HE COPIED IT 20 MINUTES LATER AND PUT IT UP ON HIS OWN SITE.
HEY MATT, IF YOUR GOING TO STEAL YOUR SUBJECT MATTER FROM US (AS IM SURE MOST SMART BLOGGERS DO), AT LEAST THROW A REFERENCE TO NINERSNATION.COM...
http://www.ninersnation.com/2009/2/21/767014/crabtree-in-a-niner-unifor
You waited a whole day to post this cheesy link to your site? And cast absurd aspersions on Matt? Get a life, you bonehead.
And get some journalistic integrity.
Well I wouldn't put half of the me first cry babies on my team. My point was the failure rate is huge when it comes to first round Wideout's Thank's you doing it.
Same to you Sourdough Sam thanks for the data!!
I see 5 of those guys I would put on my team Fitz would lead the pack in my book Holt then probably Brown..
Ah, ha! So you're the person I should blame for crashing the website and not allowing me to post that blog for a full 90 minutes. --Matt M.
Yea sorry about that - my bad. Just trying to make sure ninersnation.com gets it's proper pub. Keep up the good work matt
Yeah, but they will probably end up afrating AWOL Left Tackle Smith from Alabama even if Crabtree falss.... Yaay new strategy!
always informative,
Mike Dukakis
I don't get this. The Niners say they're going to pick the best player available, and then they wouldn't pick a receiver like Maclin at 10 because he doesn't fit their need for a physical blocker? What about the fact that the guy is DYNAMITE and would be the best player on the board if Crabtree is gone? Jeez...let's pick our WRs based on their blocking ability! That's the ticket to an explosive offense. The Eagles really benefitted from DeSean Jackson's blocking ability last year. How about a guy who can make a play?