Crabtree: Injured and Two Inches Shorter

Michael Crabtree took a double hit yesterday. He measured at the NFL Combine at 6'1", two inches shorter than his listed height at Texas Tech. He also has a stress fracture in his foot, which will prevent him from working out for teams until the Draft.

Crabtree is the consensus top receiver in the Draft. Some believe he is the most complete receiver to come out since Larry Fitzgerald. This is probably going to hurt his Draft stock. Even though he will be healthy be the time training camp begins, some clubs will be leery to take a guy they could not examine themselves. His prowess is on film of his actual work in games, but teams that overanalyze potential draftees could view these as devastating red flags.

This probably would not drop his stock enough to fall to 17, but it could make him a more realistic trade target. This team may not have been willing to pay the price to get into the top five, but a few picks later might be more palatable.