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WR Patrick Crayton, Dallas Cowboys

HT: 6-0, WT: 200, Born: 4-7-1979, College: Northwestern Oklahoma State, Drafted: Round 7

2008 Projections

Average draft position

Current as of June 28th. [Full ADP list]

Overall: H Miller (98), D Stallworth (99), Patrick Crayton (100), P Rivers (101), J Delhomme (102)
Position: B Engram (91-WR35), D Stallworth (99-WR36), Patrick Crayton (100 - WR37), R Brown (104-WR38), D Mason (105-WR39)
Click here for a comparison of these players.

Best Case

Patrick Crayton is going to be play a big role in the Cowboys' offense if things go as planned. Last year, Crayton started 13 games in place of Terry Glenn and put together a good, but not great, season. His 50 catches for 697 yards and seven touchdowns were career highs, and there's no reason to think Crayton can't further improve if he starts the entire season. Given the potency of the Cowboys passing attack, Crayton could push for the 1,000 yard mark under optimum conditions, but don't count on it.

Worst Case

The absolute worst case would be if the Cowboys somehow acquired Chad Johnson as they allegedly have interest in doing. But that's a long shot and seems to have passed. More realistically, Crayton would have to share the field with a healthy Terry Glenn. In that case, Crayton would be hard pressed to match last year's numbers.

Outlook

Crayton isn't a superior route runner nor does he have the best hands nor is he physically imposing. But he's better-than-average in nearly all facets of the game and, as a result, he could be a decent fourth- or fifth-receiver in fantasy leagues and has upside into the top 30. If Glenn is out of the picture, Crayton should be on your radar as a mid- to late-round depth option.

Why he is undervalued

Will Grant - Sure he's the #3 WR on the Cowboys behind Owens and Witten. But that's a good place to be on a team that throws as much as the Cowboys do, and guarantees the Crayton is going to face the weaker side of the secondary in most cases. He's capable of putting up solid numbers each week and can surprise you with the big game here and there. He'll easily outperform many of the WRs that will be taken in front of him in the 8th and 9th rounds, and is an excellent value pick this late in the first half of the draft.

2008 Schedule

2007 Game Summaries

Week 1 - Crayton started the game due to the absence of Terry Glenn. Romo only looked for Crayton once in the opening half, and the result was a 12 yard gain for a first down. Crayton was targeted deep on the opening drive of the second half, but the ball was out of bounds when he caught it. Crayton made catches of 14 yards and 25 yards for first downs, and both drives resulted in touchdowns by Terrell Owens.

Week 2 - Crayton drew a pass interference call in the red zone in the third quarter, being held by the Dolphins secondary. This likely would have been a touchdown. Crayton did not make any other catches.

Week 3 - Crayton played this game with a broken pinky finger on his right hand. Despite being targeted seven times by Tony Romo, he was only able to haul in three passes. He'll most be remembered in this game for the play that he didn't make. In the second quarter on a third and four from the Chicago five, Crayton dropped a perfect pass from Tony Romo that what would have went for a five yard touchdown reception. In addition to his three receptions, Crayton also returned two punts for a total of two yards. Sideline reports said that his finger wasn't a problem but he obviously dropped more passes than normal.

Week 4 - Crayton had the game of his career, catching seven passes for 184 yards and adding touchdowns from 59 and 37 yards out. He was targeted seven times, catching all seven passes. Four of his receptions resulted in first downs, to go along with the two touchdown receptions.

Week 5 - Crayton was fairly involved in the passing game, especially late (five of his targets came in the final quarter). His TD catch came with 20 seconds remaining, and he also made a huge sideline grab on the Cowboys' final offensive play, setting up the game-winning field goal.

Week 6 - Crayton caught five passes for 46 yards, including and eight yard touchdown pass early in the third quarter. Crayton had a dropped pass on a crossing route, when he tried to make a one-handed catch on a pass where it looked like he could have gotten both hands on the football.

Week 7 - Crayton had a relatively quiet afternoon, catching two of the four passes thrown his way. Crayton was the third option for Romo most of the time, after Owens and Witten. Crayton's first reception was a crossing route on the first drive and Crayton was wide open for twelve yards. His only other reception of the game was near the end of the first half. Crayton caught a seven yard pass and was hit almost immediately, fumbling the ball. The Vikings picked up the fumble and returned it for a touchdown. He did not receive a target in the second half.

Week 9 - Patrick Crayton was only targeted once in this game, and it came on Tony Romo's only interception of the night. Clearly he was not a big part of the gameplan, with Terrell Owens returning to Philadelphia.

Week 10 - Crayton was a valuable target and was open when the secondary shifted towards Terrell Owens. He finished with 66 yards after hauling in all five of his targets, finding the end zone on a 20 yard score.

Week 11 - Patrick Crayton started the game opposite Terrell Owens, but as usual took a backseat to the notorious veteran, only catching two passes for 16 yards on four targets. Given that Jason Witten is such a dynamic tight end in the passing game, Crayton is essentially the third option in the passing game. His biggest play of the game was on a deep pass down the right sideline where he drew a defensive pass interference call for a long gain. Had the ball not been slightly under thrown by Tony Romo, Crayton likely would have came down with it for a long gain and possible touchdown.

Week 13 - Crayton caught Dallas' first touchdown of the game on a play where he got open in the back of the end zone. He caught a big 35 yard pass late in the third quarter on a third and long situation. Crayton's third catch was four yard touchdown on crossing pattern where he was able to get in front of the defender on the play.

Week 14 - Crayton was limited to only one catch in the first half as the Lions schemed to take the receivers out of the offensive game plan. In the second half as things began to open up as the result of the short passing game clicking and Crayton was able to make an impact. His big play was when he caught a 30 yard pass in stride with a defender just a step behind him.

Week 15 - Patrick Crayton started the game opposite Terrell Owens, but did not catch a pass until the second half. He finished the game with two receptions for 54 yards on three targets. Crayton's biggest play of the game came on a 41 yard pass where Romo found him streaking down the deep right sideline for the long gain. Otherwise Crayton did not make an impact.

Week 16 - Required to step up with the injury to Owens, and continued absence of Terry Glenn, wide receiver/punt returner Crayton responded by providing Romo with an option over the center of the field, though did drop two targets which prevented him from having an even bigger night.

Week 17 - Crayton caught two of his targets for minimal gains.

Week 19 - Crayton should have had a better game, but he was hurt by a couple of critical drops that would likely have earned him 20 or more additional yards. He dropped a costly ball in the end zone late in the game when the Cowboys were attempting to rally for the win.