I've been thinking about this receiver for a while. His raw talent is unmatched. He's 6-2, 210 and he's one of the fastest players I've ever seen. He ran a 4.38 at his pro day (which was less than a year after he tore his ACL). Now fully healed and able to fully extend and push off, I imagine that he's actually much faster. He looks it, anyway. He has over a 40" vertical and his hands are reportedly huge. When he gets the ball in his hands, he's absolutely electrifying. With his size and speed and pure athletic ability, this guy could be devastating. The only problem is... he doesn't play receiver. He plays corner. And his name is Antonio Cromartie.
Now before you flip out and call me crazy, hear me out. I'm not proposing to have Cro make the switch full time, at least not right away. I think we should use him in a handful of packages, and mainly as a decoy. His size and speed and vertical will all but demand safety help over the top. There's probably no one better at winning 50/50 balls than Cro. Everyone knows this. Why not weaponize that ability? Who wants to have their corner stuck on Cro, solo, on a fly route? Thats right, no damn body.
Now imagine this... Its 2nd & 3 (nice down and distance to take a shot), and we're around midfield. We come out in a 3-wide set: Cro, Braylon and Tone at receiver; Keller at TE; and Joe McKnight at RB. Keller is to the right side of the formation, with Cro out wide. Tone is out wide to the left, with Braylon in the slot. If Cro commands safety help, then there's only one left to help on Keller, Tone and Braylon. Ouch.
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