NFL.com

Pick Analysis:The 49ers surprisingly land the draft's biggest playmaker in Crabtree. The two-time Biletnikoff Award winner is a natural pass catcher with outstanding ball skills and awareness. Crabtree gives the team its best receiving threat since Terrell Owens, and he's poised to become an instant star in the NFC West.



NFL.com Blog

The members of the 49ers front office would have slept a whole lot better last night if they had know that Michael Crabtree was going to be there at No. 10.

To a man in their war room - from Jed York to Scot Mcloughan - they were all shocked to see Crabtree sitting there at 10.

The only other guy there were considering would have been tackle Eugene Monroe. They considered trading down to get him, but with Crabtree just sitting there, they were doing cartwheels.

- Brian Baldinger reporting from Santa Clara, Ca.



NY Times:

In Brief: 231 college catches, 41 touchdowns, one broken foot.

Positives: Size, hands, run-after-catch skills.

Negatives: Route-running, deep speed.

The stress facture in Crabtree's left foot turned out to be a mixed blessing. The injury and his March surgery raised health concerns, though journalist draftniks were far more concerned than coaches or scouts. While rehabbing, Crabtree enjoyed a controversy free winter: no Combine escapes, Pro Day rumors, Wonderlic fiascos, drug test failures, scandals, suspicions or innuendos. Sure, he might have run the 40-yard dash in 4.3 femto-seconds if healthy. He might also have been a step slow, or filled in the wrong Wonderlic blanks, or said the wrong things during the speed-dating interview portion of the Combine. Bereft of science-lab type results, the Niners were forced to evaluate Crabtree the old fashioned way: by looking at game film.

There was quite a lot of film. Crabtree caught 97 passes last year, 134 passes in 2007. There weren't many incompletions to watch: according to The Sporting News Draft Annual, Crabtree caught 94% of the passes thrown to him. That percentage, like Crabtree's raw totals, was inflated by Texas Tech's spread offense, which is built around short passes that often only travel a few yards in the air. That offense is a bigger concern than Crabtree's foot, which will be fully rehabbed by the start of camp. Crabtree didn't have to run NFL-style pass routes at Texas Tech: he often just floated out to an empty spot in the field, hauled in a soft pass, then ran for daylight.

Crabtree will have to adjust to an NFL-style offense, but it has been done before. Wes Welker of the Patriots is a Texas Tech alum; he turned out alright, and he isn't in the same class as Crabtree physically. Welker had Tom Brady and the Patriots offense. Crabtree, unfortunately, has the identity-less Niners offense flanking him. He will have to provide the identity: a tall order for any wide receiver.