Analysis: Patrick Crayton Is Not As Good As Half The No. 2 Receivers In The NFL
By thelandryhat
How good is Patrick Crayton?
No wide receiver gets as much criticism for not deserving that No. 2 slot than Patrick Crayton. But how does he truly rank against other teams’ No. 2, even some No. 3 guys?
In this post, we’ll pit Crayton against every team’s No. 2, and some No. 3, wide receiver and we’ll make a judgment call if he is better. The star next to a team indicates where I believe Crayton would be a better No. 2 receiver. Based on my opinion, review of stats, and overall character, Crayton only wins out against 15 teams, less than half in the NFL. But he is tied with several teams, which makes Crayton, overall, an average receiver and mediocre No. 2 guy.
That may not be a surprise, but how much better would the Dallas Cowboys be if, say, they had someone like Roy Williams or Anquan Boldin on the other side of Terrell Owens? Even Michael Jenkins and Greg Jennings I think would be better fits for the Cowboys. You may be surprised that I also think Chris Chambers and Santonio Holmes and Jerricho Crotchery would be better for the Cowboys than big-talker Crayton.
Have a look, and then let me know if we should call the Seattle Seahawks or Minnesota Vikings to see if they are interested:
Arizona Cardinals
Anquan Boldin could be a No. 1 receiver for most NFL teams. By next year, he probably will be. He has 17 catches for 245 yards and 4 touchdowns. He is the best “second receiver” in the game.
Boldin is better than Patrick Crayton
*Atlanta Falcons
Michael Jenkins has 3 catches for 81 yards and a touchdown. He has yet to meet his career touchdown record of 7 in 2006, but he had the most catches of his five-year career last season. Jenkins is playing with a rookie quarterback, too.
Michael Jenkins and Patrick Crayton tie
*Baltimore Ravens
Mark Clayton has 5 catches for 35 yards. He is also playing with a rookie quarterback named Joe Flacco. Clayton has been unable to match the numbers he had in his 2006 season when he was just short of 1000 yards receiving with seven touchdowns.
Patrick Crayton is better than Mark Clayton
*Buffalo Bills
Josh Reed has 13 catches for 145 yards. He is more of a possession receiver and he has never been a big touchdown scorer. For a No. 2 receiver, you have to score more than two touchdowns in a season.
Patrick Crayton is better than Josh Reed
Carolina Panthers
Muhsin Muhammad (14, 140) and D.J. Hackett (8, 107) may have to fight over the No. 2 receiver slot now that Steve Smith is back. Muhammad, of course, had much better career numbers, including 16 touchdowns for the Panthers in 2004. He then went to the Bears where he never matched success.
Muhammad is better than Patrick Crayton; Crayton is better than D.J. Hackett
*Chicago Bears
Brandon Lloyd, 13 catches for 216 yards and a touchdown, and Rashied Davis (8 catches, 58 yards) are picking up the slack for Marty Booker. Lloyd has a good chance to shine with the Bears, who lack a major receiving threat. But Kyle Orton is throwing to him. Lloyd did nothing with the Redskins, but he was injured.
Patrick Crayton is better than any of them, but Lloyd is on his heels
Cleveland Browns
Donte’ Stallworth hasn’t played a game yet, but his impact has been positive on both the Eagles and the Patriots, yet his best years statistics wise were with the Saints.
Patrick Crayton and Donte’ Stallworth are a tie
Denver Broncos
Brandon Stokley ( 8 catches, 101 yards) is now the No. 2 receiver for the injured Darrel Jackson (1 catch, 48 yards, 1 TD). Stokley had one good year with the Colts in 2004 and it was better than any year Crayton had. Jackson has had several years better than both, but he has been in steep decline that started last season. He had 10 touchdowns in 2006.
Stokley is a tie with Crayton, and Jackson is better
Detroit Lions
Roy Williams (8 catches, 113 yards, 1 TD) has sort of become the No. 2 receiver for this team because Calvin Johnson is lighting it up. Williams was somewhat disappointing in 2007 with just five touchdowns and under 900 yard receiving. But, he only played 12 games. Cowboys fans have been begging for this Roy WIlliams to wear the blue and silver Star and for the other Roy Williams to hit the road.
I think it is safe to say, Roy Williams is better than Patrick Crayton
Green Bay Packers
Greg Jennings has 19 catches for 373 yards. He hasn’t scored yet, after 12 touchdowns last season in just 13 games. Jennings is a serious deep threat and he seems to be more and more the go-to guy for the Pack.
Greg Jennings is better than Patrick Crayton
*Houston Texans
Kevin Walter (7 catches, 56 yards, 1 TD) and Andre Davis (2 catches, 60 yards) both compete for the No. 2 receiver slot according to the depth chart.
Patrick Crayton is better than Andre Davis
Indianapolis Colts
Has Marvin Harrison (13 catches, 132 yards, 1 TD) dropped to the No. 2 receiver for the Colts? It doesn’t matter. Reggie Wayne’s 18 catches for 253 yards and 2 TDs leads the team.
Both Wayne and Harrison are better than Patrick Crayton and always have been
*Jacksonville Jaguars
Matt Jones (15 catches, 162 yards) hasn’t played a full season since 2005, and he’s never had more than five touchdowns. Reggie WIlliams ( 7 catches for 64 yards) has had very similar numbers to Crayton, other than his 10 touchdowns in 2007.
Patrick Crayton is better than both, although it is a close call and could go either way
*Kansas City Chiefs
Devard Darling’s 3 receptions for 89 yards isn’t really that impressive over three games, and neither is his entire career. The Chiefs are really hurting at this position. They would love to have Patrick Crayton.
Patrick Crayton is better than Darling
*Miami Dolphins
Gee, guess who leads the team in receiving? His name is Anthony Fasano. But he’s a tight end and not the No. 2 receiver. Greg Camarillo (who?) is the top wide receiver right now and he is third on the depth chart. Ernest Wilford and Ted Ginn Jr. are jokes.
Patrick Crayton is better than any wide receiver on the Miami Dolphins
*Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings depth chart shows some odd starting line ups, but Sydney Rice is injured and Bobby Wade (6 cathes 77 yards) has potential. There’s a guy named Visanthe Shiancoe who is gaining attention.
Patrick Crayton is better than all three of them
New England Patriots
Wes Welker (19 catches, 178 yards) showed scary potential last season and became one of the better No. 2 guys in the NFL. He could arguable be a No. 1 guy for several NFL teams. Welker will completely finish routes and rarely makes errors that decide games.
Welker is better than Patrick Crayton
*New Orleans Saints
Devery Henderson, David Patten and Robert Meachem would all I suspect compete for the No. 2 slot but the injury of Marcus Colston has sort of threw everything into a frenzy. Henderson is having some decent early stats, as is Patten. Meachem is a young guy with huge potential. Any of these guys could be better than Patrick Crayton, but the stats are similar when you look at their entire careers (minus Meachem who has two years in the NFL).
I want to call a tie here, but I will give the edge to Crayton over Henderson and Patten
New York Giants
Amani Toomer is one of those quiet competitors. He is also better than Patrick Crayton and his stats prove it. Sometimes, you gotta go with the quiet guy.
Edge goes to Toomer over Crayton
New York Jets
Jerricho Crotchery is another who also quietly puts up decent numbers. His 1130 yards last season made him one of the better second receivers in the NFL. He has improved each year and could have his career best year with Brett Favre throwing to him.
It’s close, but the edge goes to Crotchery over Crayton
*Oakland Raiders
Too bad the Raiders have an owner who makes completely idiotic decisions, i.e. Javon Walker. You look at this team’s depth chart and its second leading receiver isn’t even on it. Seriously, Ashley Lelie is not listed on NFL.com’s depth chart for the Raiders. Don’t ask me. It is easy to forget that Lelie had a 1,087 yard, 7 touchdown season for the Broncos in 2004. He declined the following year but his numbers were more comparable to Crayton’s numbers. Is Lelie better? Is Johnnie Lee Higgins, who leads the team in receiving, better? Higgins leads the team in receiving and hilariously, he does it with just one catch. Oh God.
Patrick Crayton is better than both Lelie and Higgins
Philadelphia Eagles
Reggie Brown is injured and it opened the door for rookie DeSean Jackson to shine. Hank Baskett, who right now has better numbers than Crayton early in the season, is not better than him. Jackson is.
Patrick Crayton is better than Hank Baskett, but he is not better than DeSean Jackson based on his potential and impact made already for the Eagles
Pittsburgh Steelers
Hines Ward is still the main guy in Pittsburgh, and Santonio Holmes is quickly becoming a star. Holmes had better stats that Crayton last season, and he didn’t run his mouth as much.
Holmes is better than Patrick Crayton
San Diego Chargers
Vincent Jackson is the main guy and Chris Chambers is No. 2. Chambers has had two very good seasons, and the rest have been more comparable to what Crayton has done. Chambers is underrated and spent most of his career playing for a real bad team.
Chris Chambers is better than Patrick Crayton
San Francisco 49ers
Isaac Bruce is supposed to be the leader for this team, and Bryant Johnson is expected to learn from one of the best. Well, Johnson was playing on a team that has two of the best receivers in the game (Arizona) which made him expendable. He’s never had more than 4 touchdowns, but his catches and receiving yards are comparable to Crayton’s. Crayton couldn’t touch Isaac Bruce is his prime, and still may not be able to compete with him.
Isaac Bruce is better than Patrick Crayton but age plays a factor if one were to consider taking Bruce over Crayton; Crayton and Johnson is a flipping tie.
*Seattle Seahawks
The Seahawks have some serious problems at wide receiver and would be a prime candidate for someone like Crayton, who thinks he could be a No. 1 receiver for an NFL team. Right now, it is not even worth going over who the wide outs are for the Seahawks. They’ve got issues.
Patrick Crayton is better than any healthy receiver the Seahawks have right now
*St. Louis Rams
Boy did the Rams make a boneheaded move in paying big money to Drew Bennett. He’s been worthless for the Rams and he couldn’t shine Crayton’s cleats.
Crayton is better than Drew Bennett
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
With Joey Galloway injured, it has allowed a guy named Antonio Bryant to shine. Remember him? Even I thought he was going to be the next star in Dallas, and at least a great No. 2 wide out. In his rookie year for the Cowboys, he basically had similar numbers to Crayton last year. But he was a basketcase and we ditched him. He’s putting the pieces together in Tampa. Ike Hilliard is likely the real No. 2 guy in Tampa. Hilliard has had a real roller coaster of a career. It could be argued, rather easily, that he is as effective as Crayton.
Crayton ties with Hilliard, but he gets the edge over Bryant
*Tennessee Titans
Not a team really known for its receiving corps, the Titans have a bunch of no names catching the ball for them right now. Tight end Bo Scaife leads the team. Justin McCareins basically has similar numbers to Crayton for this early season. The defense truly is leading this team to victory each week.
Ahh what the heck, Crayton is better than any receiver on the Titans
*Washington Redskins
The Skins are very similar to the Cowboys in that they really don’t have a No. 2 receiver who is worthy of it, but they have a tight end who is as good as many No. 1 receivers. Randle El is overrated and nearly a bust, and they’ve got a few rookies and a guy named James Thrash.
Crayton gets the edge over Randle El