Injury Bouncebacks & Sleepers: Michael Crabtree & Reggie Wayne

July 13, 2014

RotoBaller analyzes some NFL injury bounceback sleeper candidates in Michael Crabtree and Reggie Wayne for the 2014 Fantasy Football season. Target these undervalued players in your drafts.

A couple weeks ago we looked at Randall Cobb as an injury bounceback sleeper . Here are a couple more players who missed at least six games last year but should be kept in the back of your mind when drafting this year.

Michael Crabtree - San Francisco 49ers

A ruptured Achilles is no longer the death sentence that it was fifteen years ago. Once upon a time, this injury costed Vinny Testeverde the entire 1999 season and into some of his 2000 offseason. In 2013, Crabtree blew out the tendon during training camp and still ended up playing in five games. The injury helped end Lawrence Taylor’s career in the early 1990s, but Terrell Suggs recovered in only five months and seven days to become a key contributor in the Raven’s run to Super Bowl XLVII.

So anyone factoring the severity ruptured Achilles injury into their consideration of drafting the San Fransisco wideout need not to worry. Though his numbers in those five regular season games were unspectacular, it’s important to remember that the 49ers had no reason to rush their emerging star back onto the field with the team rolling and everyone in the organization dreaming about a second straight trip to the Super Bowl. When Crabtree exploded for eight catches and 125 yards against visiting Green Bay in last year’s Wild Card round (though it had zero fantasy implications by that point in the season) it reminded us just how lethal the Colin Kaepernick-Crabtree duo was.

Remember, the Texas Tech product had the highest yards-per-game average (150.6) for a freshman in NCAA history as a part of Mike Leach’s spread offense in 2007, and he was twice named the top receiver in the nation. Talent has never been in question. But he was the last rookie to sign (and the first 49er rookie to hold out in a few decades) when he was drafted in 2009, and unsurprisingly the 49ers were not tripping over themselves to fuel Crabtree’s immaturity and sense of exceptionalism. So the receiver didn't see many balls until Alex Smith’s conservative “game managing” style was ousted for the explosive Kaepernick half way through Crabtree’s third season. But it was a huge step forward for Crabtree as talent recognized talent from the get go and the Texas Tech product notched his first 1000-yard season that year.

And, hey, if you’re not convinced by the obvious chemistry between the tandem, then let’s see if we can find any outside motivational factors:

• Let’s start with the fact that theres a G.O.A.T. sized shadow casted over any San Francisco wide receiver by Mr. Jerry Rice. So good is never good enough for the Bay Area fans.
• And then of course he was only a couple of feet away from catching the touchdown pass to bring his team to a second straight Super Bowl. And then only a few minutes later, his talented was challenged by arguably his biggest personal rival in historic fashion on national television.
• Then the Seahawks went on to win a championship (with murmurs of their defense entering the conversation of one of the best ever assembled began) only twelve months after San Fran had come so close to one of their own.
• Top it off with the fact that Crabtree is looking to be shown the financial love that his quarterback was shown this offseason. High fantasy numbers often correlate well with contract size.

Seems pretty motivating if you ask me.

Breaking the 1000-yard threshold should be a good beginning with the possibility of a Josh Gordon explosion looming when Crabtree hauls in four straight 150+ yard games following a Week 8 bye. Don’t be surprised if Crabtree is the ninth or tenth wide receiver off the board, though. If at any point you’re going through your draft routine and you say to yourself “oh dang, Crabtree is still there” then you'd better use your next pick on him, because if you’re thinking it, at least one other owner at your draft sees it too.

Reggie Wayne - Indianapolis Colts

A talent fresh out of the U, Wayne had the pleasure of learning from Marvin Harrison and was receiving passes from a developing Peyton Manning from the get go. Manning gets hurt and what happens to Wayne? He just gets pleasure of helping to mentor and develop another generational talent in Andrew Luck. Considering the torn ACL that the wideout suffered last year is going to have little effect on his ability to catch and run pristine routes, there’s no reason to believe that Wayne is going to miss out on what will probably be a massive season from Andy Luck.

Considering how the quarterback basically singlehandedly prolonged the Colts' postseason last year, it isn’t crazy to believe that Chuck Pagano will offer his third-year field general more and more freedom to get creative at the line of scrimmage, which will open up opportunities for the 35-year-old Wayne (that’s right, Wayne is only 35. Let’s just say that he wouldn’t be the first person to have a great season at this ripe age). If 1000 yards is the benchmark, Wayne will be right there yet again this year, and probably next year and the year after that, as he wants to be a Colt. You may see him available in the ninth and tenth round, and the low-risk, high-reward nature of the pick could be a winning formula once the end of the season rolls around.