Duke's Jamison Crowder may not have ideal size but he may be this year's TAvon Austin

[RS12]

NFL offenses continue to evolve, and the premium has begun to put on playmakers. In last year’s draft, the Bucs valued size and length, drafting Mike Evans and Austin Seferian-Jenkins. In the past two drafts, the Rams selected Tavon Austin and the Saints took Brandin Cooks, both sub 5’10 receivers with electric speed and big-play ability.

Duke senior Jamison Crowder fits into the latter category, with diminutive size (likely to measure in around 5’8 and a half) but the ability to make up for it with vertical-stretching ability, run after catch shiftiness and the ability to win on short-area routes.

Those three characteristics are essential for a smaller receiver to be worthy of a top 100 pick in the NFL draft, and I’ve used two of Crowder’s games from last year (North Carolina and Texas A&M) to illustrate how he can find success in the NFL…and become worthy of a surprisingly high draft selection.

http://optimumscouting.com/draft/ar...be-this-years-tavon-austin-brandin-cooks.html

 

[RS12]

WR Jamison Crowder (5'9 | 175 | 4.53 | #3)
Duke's other returning first-team All-ACC member, receiver Jamison Crowder, comes off a record-breaking junior year that saw him set new school marks for both receptions (108) and receiving yards (1,360), to go with 8 TDs. He also returned 25 punts for 401 yards (16.0 avg) and two TDs.

At only 175 pounds, concerns about Crowder's size in transition to the next level are certainly merited, however, he has shown a knack for being able to keep himself clean with good quickness off the line, suddenness in and out of breaks and make-you-miss ability after the catch, giving him the look of a potentially very productive NFL receiver despite lacking burner speed or physicality to match up on the outside.

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/nfl-draft-scout/24606711/nfl-draft-duke-preview

 

[DFWJC]

SL. Gave up WAY to much for Tavon Austin...IMO.
He'll give them much more this year,hopefully, but the value was not there for an early 1st rd pick.

However, yes, if Crowder could be had much later, then he could bring decent value.