Loading ...From First to Worst…
On April 25th, 2009 at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, the 2009 NFL Draft was held. On that day there was a certain receiver out of Texas Tech named Michael Crabtree who was a lock to go in the top 10, and was even projected by some to go in the top 5.
Crabtree, a two-time Biletnikoff and Paul Warfield Award winner (awards given out to the best receivers in College Football), was set to most likely be drafted by the Oakland Raiders as the seventh overall pick. His college success was undeniable, and his numbers – 231 catches for 3127 yards and 41 touchdowns – made him an easy choice for the Raiders, who desperately needed a superstar wide receiver to generate some much needed offensive production.
Moves like this made Crabtree one of the best WR in the history of College Football...the moves he is making now, off the field, could make him one of the biggest busts in the history of Pro Football.
Before the draft, Crabtree was diagnosed with a stress fracture in his left leg, and opted to have surgery to repair it rather than to take part in any Pro Days. So Crabtree went from being a sure thing, to a bit of gamble, because no one knew if he’d be the same coming off this injury and playing in the pros.
When the Raiders got on the clock, they decided to use their seventh overall pick on Maryland wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey, who was nowhere near as talented as Crabtree, but ran a faster 40-yard dash. Crabtree then fell to the San Francisco 49ers as the tenth overall draft pick. Apparently this upset him. Crabtree felt he should have gone a lot higher, and someone – not himself – was to blame for this. His former head coach, Texas Tech’s Mike Leach, claimed that Cleveland Browns head coach Eric Mangini called Crabtree a “diva” after his meeting with him. Leach said this was a big reason Crabtree wasn’t taken as high as he should have been.
This was followed by Crabtree and his agent, Eugene Parker, deciding that they were going to hold-out for a “top 5 draft pick” contract, since that’s where he should have gone in the draft. Yea, that’s how it works. You get a job and tell your boss that, even though you have been hired for one job, you feel that you should be paid like someone who has a better job than you. On August 30, 2009, Crabtree became, and still is, the very last holdout and unsigned draft pick of the 2009 Draft. On September 9th, Crabtree became the longest unsigned draft pick in the history of the 49ers.
"I am honored and all coach, but I feel like I deserve first overall pick money, so if you could go ahead and do that, that'd be great, thanks." (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)
But that isn’t the end of this idiot’s journey. Crabtree, in an effort to get the contract that he feels he deserves, has been rumored to be preparing to sit out the entire 2009-10 season. Sources say that because the Niners’ won’t give Crabtree the money he wants – or trade him to a team that will – he would go as far as sitting out this season, and then try to re-enter draft this April. A plan built to perfection if I may say so myself. Every team in the NFL is looking to shell out big money to a receiver that hasn’t played in a year and didn’t act like a “diva” at all by sitting out an entire season to get that money. Nice work Michael. Only one other player has gone that route and he was a quarterback out of Colorado State named Kelly Stouffer who refused to sign with the Cardinals in 1987 (don’t panic if you don’t know who that is, no one does and that’s my point).
Seems like Al Davis is the one laughing now. Everyone, including myself, thought he was officially senile when he drafted Heyward-Bey over Crabtree. Crabtree could go on to become one of the NFL’s greatest receivers, but right now he is doing absolutely nothing. So it would seem that Al Davis’ brain is still functioning, because Heyward-Bey was playing last night (even though he did nothing to help his team win). However, he was still on the field, in uniform, playing football. Meanwhile, Crabtree sits at home playing NCAA 2010, the XBOX version of course (he enjoys the one that features him on the cover). Heyward-Bey could go on to be a great receiver, or he could go on to be a massive bust, but as of right now, it appears that Al Davis did know what he was doing when he chose him instead of Crabtree…or at least its worked out that way so far.
Wow, big shocker… another diva wide receiver.
I thought Al Davis was nuts, he said he didnt draft crabtree cause he didnt like the way he spoke to him…but I guess he had a brief moment of sanity there…. a very brief, short, moment that doesnt come very often. They said Crabtree left the bay area to go home, so I guess drafting him late in my fantasy draft was a bad choice.