The New York Giants are swirling down a black hole at the wide receiver position. First, Sterling Shepard fractured the tip of his thumb, then Corey Coleman tore his ACL, Brittan Golden injured his groin, and now Golden Tate could be suspended for the first four games of the season.
While all these negatives surely cast a dark cloud over the unit, Shepard is expected to be healthy for week one, and Tate has a strong case to reverse the suspension (read more here).
However, the Giants still need to look into bringing in more talent at the position, as filling it with undrafted free agents or unproven pass-catchers will not help Eli Manning and the offense succeed. This is why looking into Michael Crabtree could be a stellar idea.
What would Micheal Crabtree bring to the New York Giants?
As one of the league’s top red-zone targets (28 TDs over the last four seasons), Crabtree could bring another element to the team. He’s a fierce player that doesn’t back down from a challenge and has the veteran leadership to help build a cohesive unit that’s falling apart at the seams.
One of the best traits Crabtree has is his health. He has missed just 18 of 141 games in his career, and that is something the Giants have struggled with in recent seasons. He has the ability to handle a No. 1 receiver workload in the case Shepard or Tate find themselves on the sidelines knock on wood. He has recorded over 50 receptions in his last five seasons and is just two years removed from a 1,000-yard campaign.
Here's another look at that Michael Crabtree TD. pic.twitter.com/QEPTgpCcbS
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) January 6, 2019
While he might cost $3-4 million on a one-year deal, the Giants need to sure up the WR unit or they could find themselves in big trouble come the regular season. Saquon Barkley can only handle so much of the load, and compromising his health is something head coach Pat Shurmur needs to be cautious of.