Believe it or not, the San Francisco 49ers have had a few mock drafts (earlier ones, mostly) where they aren't involved in any of this Carson Wentz/Jared Goff business. Instead, these drafts have had them going defense or taking Laquon Treadwill out of the University of Mississippi.
It immediately made me think of the last time we drafted a wide receiver with a top 10 pick. None other than everyone's favorite outspoken receiver, Michael Crabtree.
Crabtree made a name for himself in the college ranks as one of the better wide receivers in the league. Playing for the Texas Tech Red Raiders, Crabtree would top lists as the best freshman college football player in the nation. The campaign continued into his sophomore season where he finished 5th in Heisman voting and would later get his mug on the X-Box 360 cover of NCAA 2010.
Too bad Crabtree wouldn't be around to bask in his own glory, because after just two seasons, he declared himself to the NFL draft. He was projected to go as early as the 4th pick by some, but he instead fell into San Francisco's lap with the 10th pick.
Then the drama began.
Crabtree would find himself in the midst of a long holdout with the 49ers front office as both sides couldn't agree on a decent rookie contract. The whole thing blew up into a massive circus with the media and the league. Even the New York Jets allegedly were involved in a tampering accusation that kept Crabtree from signing. He eventually signed on October 7th, when the 2009 season was fully underway.
And this video is where it all began: The 2009 NFL draft. It's a rather funny hearing Steve Young talk about what Mike Singletary wanted to do with the team. Even more disheartening is Young stating that the days of the dynasty were basically over. A hard pill to swallow. There was a lot of hope for Crabtree and at the time, a lot thought he was a steal at number 10.
By the way, does anyone else notice the irony at the beginning? It sure makes me laugh.