Premier receiver lets others sing his praises
Michael Crabtree turns 30 in a few weeks, and the onetime enigmatic 49er has been a model of drama-free consistency since joining the Raiders.
Scratch that. Crabtree has actually gotten better with age.
He had a career-high 89 catches for 1,003 yards and
“He’s slowingCrab is nota down.guy that genetically he’s going to play as long as he wants to play.” Derek Carr, Raiders’ QB
eight touchdowns last season, and just turned in a mistakeand day-off-free training camp. In a preseason game Saturday night, Crabtree caught a short pass, juked Rams cornerback Troy Hill to the ground and skipped in for a 13-yard touchdown.
But he is letting that play do the talking for him. Other than
his clothing line, Crabtree keeps a low profile, and he turned down numerous requests to talk about this season or returning home to Dallas for Saturday’s preseason game.
Good thing his quarterback, Derek Carr, is a talker. Carr not only agreed with the better-with-age theory but also explained how Crabtree has lived up to the tall tales from his younger days. (Seven years ago, Carr’s brother David was a backup quarterback on the 49ers).
“My brother would always tell me stories about him when they were in San Francisco together and just the things that he could do,” Derek Carr said. “Now I’m seeing him do those same things. He’s not slowing down. Crab is a guy that genetically he’s going to play as long as he wants to play. It’s not going to slow down for him.”
An example came in Saturday’s game. During a 31-yard catch by Amari Cooper, if you had looked at the other side of the field you might have seen some smoke.
Crabtree “ran a go-route on that one,” Carr said. “‘You watch Crabtree run on that play and you can (see) he has not slowed down one bit. He knew on that certain play he wasn’t even getting the ball. The corner was 20 yards off and he still tried to outrun the guy and it looked impressive.”
Crabtree knows, however, the ball is coming his way when the Raiders are in the red zone. His 17 regular-season touchdown receptions during his two years with Carr are tied for sixth most in the NFL since 2015.
“He’s been pretty darn good since he’s been here for us,” Raiders head coach Jack Del Rio said. “He’s been a very reliable target for Derek. I think they’re comfortable with the rapport they have. He’s had a strong camp and is playing well for us. I’m very pleased with the way things are going there.”
There’s a lot of trust between Carr and Crabtree, as evidenced by the quarterback throwing a fade for the gamewinning two-point conversion in last year’s season opener in New Orleans. Raiders cornerback TJ Carrie sees it every day in practice.
Especially when he says he has Crabtree blanketed and Carr still fires in a completion.
“He could be covered to the max and DC will slip it in there where only he might be able to get it with one hand,” Carrie said. “Or he might be able to get it with just a certain type of body position.
“That just goes to the strength of how much the bond they’ve created together over the last couple of years has grown.”
Many NFL scouts and frontoffice types think that Crabtree has the best hands in the NFL, and Carrie agrees.
“Some of the grabs he does are pretty remarkable,” Carrie said.
Fifty-six of Crabtree’s 89 receptions went for a first down last season — tied for ninth most in the NFL. If there is an area of the turf where he wants to set up shop at 7-8 yards down the field, he will get there. And put the “open” sign up.
“He has great hands,” Cooper said. “He plays physical at the line of scrimmage; no one can ever jam him. And even when he’s still covered, he can still come down with the catch. So, he has a great skill set.”
Those hands of Crabtree’s are not only great at catching the ball, but also at buying him some space when he takes off from the line of scrimmage
“I usually use my feet to get separation off the line of scrimmage or at the top of my route,” Cooper said. “But, one of the things I’ve learned from him is you can also get the same results using your hands.”
And don’t let the low-key swag fool you. Crabtree does get excited, when it comes to the Raiders offense.
“Crab is a gamer,” Cooper said. “He loves game time, he gets really hype. He’s always giving me motivation right before the game.”