Washington Redskins |
Height: 5-9 Weight:
177 Age: 25
Born: 6/17/1993 Monroe, NC
College: Duke
Experience: 4th season
High School: Monroe HS [NC]
The Perception:
As Jamison
Crowder enters his fourth season in the NFL, expectations could be no higher
for the electric playmaker to take the next step in his development. Jamison
already has made a name for himself as a productive, reliable pass catcher able
to make plays and bail out his quarterback with sound route running and a quick
first step off the line. Since entering the league with the Redskins, Crowder
made himself an integral part of the offensive system becoming one of Kirk
Cousins favourite targets along the way. In his rookie campaign, Crowder finished
the year as the third leading receiver statistically behind Jordan Reed and
Pierre Garcon. Following up an impressive start to his career, Jamison found
his way to garner more production (in year two) standing second in line behind
Pierre Garcon this time leading the squad in touchdown receptions hauling in
seven for the season.
As the 2017
season began, the Skins went through somewhat of a transition at the receiver
position allowing Pierre Garcon and DeSean Jackson to skip town in hopes their younger
core of up and coming receiver talent would fit the bill. Understanding the
need of a supporting cast to help ease opposing coverage on Crowder, Washington
signed Terrelle Pryor to join the fold. With players like Josh Doctson and Ryan
Grant pegged to have taken the leap forward, Washington believed they had the
corps to make things happen last season. When all was said and done, injuries decimated
the Skins, teamed with lackluster play from the supporting cast which lead the
Redskins to another playoff-less season. On the bright spot, Crowder was able
to find some success leading the club in almost every receiving category
providing credence that standing virtually alone, he could still produce at an excellent
level.
When
discussing Jamison Crowder with colleagues, it’s quite interesting to see the
varying opinion on the smaller slot receiver. Most perceive Crowder the same
(much like we do), in that he should elevate his game and take over as the true
number one target on this club. With youth at the receiver position still present,
good experience has been gained over the past few seasons to give the core a
leg up for the upcoming slate. Some believe the loss of Kirk Cousins will
become detriment to the overall outlook of Crowder and company providing a
weaker evaluation for 2018; ADF isn’t in that circle of opinion and fully expects
the naysayers to be proven wrong upon completion of the season.
The Reality:
It’s no
secret that we at ADF are frim believers in the talents of Jamison Crowder and
believe he has the ability to raise the bar this season as he enters the prime
of his career. The concern coming into the offseason of course was the issue in
paying their starting pivot Kirk Cousins the money he believed he was due. Many
rumblings from the front office had leaked into the media suggesting Coach Jay
Gruden and upper management personal weren’t convinced that Cousins was the
ultimate answer for the team to invest large sums of money committing long term
into the future. Addressing this concern early knowing a deal with Cousins wasn’t
on the horizon, Washington orchestrated a deal with the Kansas City Chiefs to
bring Alex Smith to lead the charge. With the deal set in principle before the
league year opened, speculation on how the offense would take shape and how
that would impact players like Crowder began to outline new conversations.
When
speaking of Alex Smith and his ability, most will ascertain that Smith is a
system quarterback with decent arm strength, taking what opposing defenses will
give him. One thing we know for sure when discussing Smith and what he’s
accomplished so far in his career, is that he is undervalued and underrated by
most. The acquisition of Smith to the nation’s capital had ADF licking our
chops at what could transpire for Jamison Crowder for the upcoming season. Alex
Smith though very successful with the deep ball these last few seasons in
Kansas City, is more adept at finding his check down receiver with high
regularity, a huge uptick for the outlook of Crowder before they even hit the
field. Combining that with a solid run attack (which the Skins should have this
season in rookie Derrius Guice), the play action pass should be established
early and often week-to-week providing great opportunity for Jamison to find mismatches
over the middle exploiting zone coverages consistently. This remade offense
should give the Redskins fan base a great deal to cheer about in the upcoming
season.
The Outlook:
ADF has
wavered in the past believing Jamison had great ability but wasn’t the overall
talent that could put an offense on his back in crunch time. This season we
have bought in completely on the notion that Crowder will be a gigantic difference
maker on the field propelling the supporting cast to match his level of production.
Crowder has never enjoyed a 1000 yard season thus far in his career, but that
should ultimately change as he should become the go-to receiver for Alex Smith
in 2018. When reviewing past season game film, it’s easy to pick out items
which impress from Crowder overall play. He’s a fantastic route runner that
creates separation upon point of attack and uses his quickness and speed to
leave corners chasing all over the field. Jamison has had issues with dropped
passes and fumbles on occasion, but we fully expect him to raise his level of
play ironing out those deficiencies.
From the
fantasy perceptive, Jamison Crowder didn’t overwhelm in terms of production leaving
those who believed in his abilities angered and frustrated. The perception for
fantasy output remains lower than it had in the past, as mangers find it
difficult to trust Crowder as he finished last year as the 33rd
ranked receiver in PPR (Point Per Reception) formats. As mentioned above, the
Redskins roster was taken over with injuries leaving Jamison in the precarious
situation of beating double teams on a weekly basis being the only viable receiving
threat. With that said, the numbers generated weren’t terrible as Crowder was
able to muster a decent 160.3
fantasy points, giving him an average of 10.7
points per game in 15 contests played, not too shabby for where he ranked on
draft boards. For 2018, Crowder finds himself again undervalued in terms of ADP
(Average Draft Position), seeing current ranks holding around the 95th
pick being selected late seventh early eighth round. For our appetite, we find extraordinary
value in this ranking as Crowder could become a PPR darling with Alex “captain
check down” Smith throwing him the ball. It’s not unconceivable to see Crowder produce
65-75 receptions for 950-1100 yards and 5-8 touchdowns on the season. ADF fully
endorses Crowder as a weekly Flex or WR3 option with high end WR2 upside.
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