Faceoff - ILB Channing Crowder, Miami Dolphins

Posted 7/25, exclusive to Footballguys.com

Upside - by Jene Bramel

There are reasons to be concerned about Channing Crowder. In three seasons with the Dolphins, he's been unable to establish himself as an every-down player. When filling in for an injured Zach Thomas, he's been productive in the box scores, but never had the same impact that Thomas had. And it remains to be seen how Crowder will fit into the 2-gap 3-4 the Dolphins are likely to use.

So where's the upside for Crowder? As veteran IDP owners know, talent is important for box score production, but opportunity is often more important. There's certainly plenty of opportunity for Crowder this season. The Dolphin defense is likely to be on the field for a well above-average number of snaps this season, which should provide Crowder with plenty of tackle opportunity. With the questionable offense and defense, Miami should be behind often, meaning much of that opportunity will come against the run. With Thomas and now Jason Taylor out of the picture, Crowder has very little competition for tackles among the front seven. If that's not enough, Crowder's in a contract year. It's a recipe to rack up solo tackles.

The current FBG consensus ranking for Crowder is LB37 -- barely replacement level in 12 team leagues. At that ADP, Crowder is all upside. Almost assuredly an every down ILB on a team that should provide plenty of tackle opportunity, Crowder should easily end up with 85+ solo tackles. 95 or more solos isn't out of the question. Barring a major injury, Crowder should easily finish in the top 30 overall linebackers in tackle heavy systems and it's very possible he could finish in the top 20 or better. Don't be afraid to pull the trigger on him as your LB3.

Downside - by Sigmund Bloom

In many ways, 2008 will be a year of new beginnings for Channing Crowder. The Bill Parcells regime brings a much more solidified 3-4 defense and a likely starting job as WILB. Zach Thomas is now a Dallas Cowboy and Crowder will no longer have to compete with him for tackles in the middle of the field. While there are reasons for optimism, the Dolphins are taking a wait and see attitude with Crowder's future and so should you.

Crowder came out of Florida early, but he still went in the 3rd round. He's a quick, strong, athletic LB who has the ability to always be around the ball, and he's absolutely good enough in coverage to stay on the field for every play. How does such a talented LB fall to the 3rd round? Crowder brought two big question marks into the NFL with him -- his long history of knee surgeries and off the field incidents. Both have reared their ugly heads in the last 12 months.

Crowder has had so many knee surgeries that it's hard to sort them all out. He had surgery on both knees after his senior year in high school, which cost him the entire year of 2002. One of those surgeries was a re-do of an ACL replacement from a cadaver that did not take. Crowder had had three knee surgeries and both ACLs replaced by the time he was 19. In 2003, he had another surgery on the right knee, the same one that he injured last year, ending his 2007 campaign. Crowder had surgery on that knee this offseason, and he was not able to return to the field at 100% before training camp. Crowder had multiple scrapes with the law during his college career, and this offseason he was cited after leaving his truck crashed into a tree, with a gun and crutches inside. The risk that Crowder will miss time due to character issues is small, but you would certainly rather see him coming off a less tumultuous offseason.

So while Crowder is going to be set up with a great role in the new defense, he's yet to prove a thing to the new regime, and until we see him at full speed in that role, you're drafting him on faith. Faith that he can become a tackle machine in a defense and role that robbed Jonathan Vilma of his fantasy edge. Faith that he's stay healthy even though both of his knees have been reconstructed and been under the scope more than once. Faith that he'll produce big plays even though he has been relatively quiet thus far in his career. Crowder is in a contract year, and the Dolphins have NOT shown much faith in Crowder. They have spurned advances from his agent to get a long term deal done, and instead want to see what he does this year before committing to him. You have that same reluctance when it comes time to decide whether to call his name at your draft.

Crowder is a good risk with upside if you can draft him as an LB3/LB4. When Zach Thomas was out last year, Crowder averaged about eight total tackles a game, but he also only lasted five games after that point. That kind of mix of the agony and ecstasy is what you should expect with Crowder, and that's why you shouldn't make him one of the cornerstones of your roster.