Raiders' Wide Receiver Crabtree Showing He's as Good (or Better) Than Ever

Former 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh once said Michael Crabtree had the best hands of any wide receiver he’d ever seen.

This year, Crabtree – at age 30 and in his ninth NFL season – continues to grab almost every pass aimed in his direction. On Sunday in a victory over the New York Jets, he caught all six passes thrown his way by quarterback Derek Carr while scoring three touchdowns and picking up 80 yards.

For the season, Crabtree has now caught 12 of 13 passes thrown to him, a catch rate of 92.3 percent. He’s averaging 13.6 yards per reception and leads all NFL players in TD catches through two weeks.

Against the Jets, Crabtree had a terrific game, as graded by the analytic website Pro Football Focus. Wrote PFF: “Whether on a fade into the end zone or a go-route adjustment that Crabtree moved for before the corner could even see it, the Jets couldn’t hold Crabtree in check … and it seemed the only thing limiting Crabtree’s stat line … was the number of times the Raiders felt the need to put the ball in the air.”

Crabtree has scored 20 TDs since joining the Raiders in 2015, a total that is tied for fourth-most in the NFL over that span.

Recently, new Raiders receiver Cordarrelle Patterson said he talked to Crabtree about his ability to catch the ball in traffic and what he does to make certain he pulls in every pass.

“He said it’s really about your focus and concentration,” Patterson told Ron Kroichick of the San Francisco Chronicle. “Don’t get lazy. Sometimes we get lazy when we catch the ball. We think we’re going to catch everything and then we drop the pass.”

After Sunday’s game, which puts the Raiders at 2-0, Carr told Kroichick that Crabtree works hard every day to ensure he both catches the ball and scores when given the opportunity.

“The thing young kids need to know about him is every day Crab catches a ball in practice, he finishes to the end zone,” Carr said. “So he’s used to scoring. Every route he runs, every day he catches, he finishes.”

The Raiders and Crabtree get the chance to start the season 3-0 this Sunday  when they travel across country to take on Washington in a nationally televised night game.