Heir Apparent

It would seem that Michael Crabtree is to be the NFL's heir apparent to Terrell Owens, at least in the ego department.

Michael Crabtree, wide receiver out of Texas Tech, was drafted 10th over all by the San Francisco 49ers. He feels that he should have been drafted higher. And he feels that he should be paid as if he had been drafted higher. At first, I'd heard that he wanted to be paid at least as much as the third overall draft pick, which was Tyson Jackson of LSU, who was drafted by Kansas City. Latest reports say he is wanting more money than Okland's #7 pick, Darius Heyward-Bey. The 49ers say they are going to pay him less than the Green Bay Packer's #9 pick B.J. Raji. Crabtree thinks this is not good enough. He says if he doesn't get his way, he's just going to take his ball and go home. Crabtree's temper tantrum has reached such a fever pitch, even his agent is distancing himself from his actions.

If Crabtree doesn't get the contract he wants, he is going to sit out the entire 2009 season and re-enter the draft next year. This is a risky move on his part. It may very well be that he is drafted LOWER next year. He might just ought to take the deal he is being offered. There were reasons he wasn't drafter higher than he was. It might have to do with teams deciding they just didn't need a wide receiver at that point. It might have to do with his injury concerns. It might have to do with pro scouts not taking Texas Tech's football program seriously. In fact, Graham Harrell, who was once considered a Heisman Trophy contender, wasn't even drafted. Wasn't picked up as a free agent, either. Last I heard, he was playing in the CFL.

Whatever the reasons, Crabtree was drafted 10th, and no higher. Those reasons are not likely to go away between now and next April. Then you add to that the fact that now he is giving himself a reputation as being an selfish egomaniac.

Now, Terrell Owens has the reputation of being an selfish egomaniac, but at least we know he can play football. We don't know that about Crabtree. Sure, he did well at Tech, but can he make the transition into the NFL? We don't know that. Lots of college stars can't. That's one reason I think it's ridiculous to give unproven rookies multi-year, multi-million dollar contracts before anyone knows if they are going to be able to play in the NFL. It's like buying a car sight unseen. You don't even know if the thing is going to run. Same with rookies. You don't know if they are going to play well, yet they are demanding their contracts before you can even get them into training camp.

I think too much is made of draft position anyway. The NFL draft is basically an educated crap shoot. You can guess well, but you don't really know what you are going to get out of the deal. Yeah, there have been some great players chosen in the first round, on the other hand, remember Jim Druckenmiller? Ki-Jana Carter? Rae Carruth? No? I don't either, but they were all first round draft choices.

Of course, the flip side of it is, that undrafted guy working in the grocery store just might end up being Kurt Warner.

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