Can Michael Crabtree bring some 1st round value to the Raiders offense? The San Francisco 49ers drafted him 10th overall in the 2009 draft and since then he has had only one 1,000 yard season and 0 seasons with double digit touchdowns.
Now it appears that Crabtree is coming on in Raiders camp and his first round talent is beginning to show. This brings up an interesting question, was Crabtree a bust for the 49ers because of Colin Kaepernick or does he just look good in a camp where the only star wide receiver is a rookie? Kaepernick has been pretty solid but there are a couple of quarterbacks in this league that easily surpass his touchdown totals every season.
His passer rating only began to dip last season and still it was above an 85; in Derek Carr's first season he has already tied Kaepernick's highest touchdown total for any of his NFL seasons.
Carr seems to also have the upside of being able the throw the ball like a pocket quarterback should, Kaepernick often runs to gain yards and cross the end zone if he's close. Looking at the Raiders wide receiving core seems to be telling as well. With Seth Roberts, Kenbrell Thompkins, Kris Durham, and Andre Holmes behind Crabtree and Cooper is it really a shock that Crabtree stands out?
Plus we have to factor in that the Raiders for the most part are not a running team, the offensive line is better at pass blocking and Latavius Murray has yet to really become one of the top running backs in the league. For a long time Frank Gore was the face of the 49er's offense and he would get the ball on goal line situations not Kaepernick. So maybe now that Crabtree is in a pass heavy offense he will shine or maybe it's just a mirage, we will not know until week 1.