Michael Crabtree (WR, SF) - 2015 Fantasy Football Sleeper

BALLER MOVE: Target ~120 overall

ADP: Standard #160, PPR #139

ANALYSIS: The Raiders in 2014 had a leading receiver that only had 73 receptions and six receiving touchdowns. That player was James Jones and he is now fighting for the third or fourth receiving spot on the New York Giants. Michael Crabtree is joining a Raiders team that is in desperate need of receiving talent. He comes in as the team's second biggest receiving acquisition behind Amari Cooper, the 4th overall draft pick out of Alabama.

Seven years ago Crabtree came into the league as the 10th overall pick out of Texas Tech having won two Bilentikoff Awards (best collegiate receiver in the nation, 2007-2008). Along with these accolades came high expectations and Crabtree was never able to fully live up to them during his time in San Francisco. In his six seasons with the 49ers he only had 80 receptions once and never reached double digit receiving touchdowns. Crabtree's best season was 2012 when he had a stat line of 85/1105/9 and finished as the 14th best fantasy receiver. Last year he was only able to muster together 68/698/4 while playing in 15 games and being one of the team's top targets.

With that being said, he will be joining a much more pass-minded offense in Oakland than he's ever played in before. If Crabtree can accept his role as a second or third receiving option on this young Raiders team he should be able to flourish. Cooper, Latavius Murray, Mychal Rivera, Andre Holmes, Roy Helu, and Derek Carr all make up a young and exciting offensive core. With Holmes expected to miss a few weeks with a broken hand, expect Crabtree to get more initial snaps and better chemistry with second year QB Carr.

The average between Crabtree's best season and last season comes out to 77/902/7 which seems a reasonable expectation for him on this team. This would put him as a top 30 receiver way ahead of his current WR ADP of 58. Taking Crabtree a few rounds earlier is rolling the dice on a sometimes injured and inconsistent player. At this point in the draft though many players are gambles and if he can stay healthy he should be one of the better ones.