There has been all this talk about Stanback running the "Wildcat" formation. OK, cool. What's that like, two or three plays a game, if that? You can't just run him out there in the "Wildcat" if he's not a consistent part of the offense. And from the looks of things now, it's going to be tough for Stanback to crack into that top four group of receivers.
And no, I didn't leave out Patrick Crayton. And no, this was not the projected depth-chart order either. In my mind, Crayton is still the No. 2 receiver and should remain there all season long. He may not make huge plays because he's not the fastest receiver out there. But, he probably has the best hands and he runs good routes. Sure, we all know about the drop in the Giants playoff game in 2007, and some of you haven't forgiven him for that.
All in all, Crayton is, and has been, a productive receiver and he probably is the guy that has the least amount of question marks. That's why I waited on him. We know what Crayton is going to be. He'll come up with key third-down catches over the middle, and he'll occasionally take one or two of them to the house. Crayton will probably average four to five catches a game, but that includes some games where he'll get eight or nine, mixed in with a game where he may not catch a pass or just one. But over the course of a 16-game game season, you pretty much know what you'll get from Crayton and it's always serviceable.
But that's still quite a few uncertainties about the receivers, and that's only the top five. And those are the guys you're supposed to know a lot about.
After that, of course there are questions about guys like Travis Wilson, who has looked pretty good in the OTAs so far. And then there are rookies like Manuel Johnson, a seventh-round pick from Oklahoma, or rookie free agents Kevin Ogletree and Julian Hawkins. And now you've got Mike Jefferson back in the mix. With all of those guys, you'll have a new set of questions every single week.
Up and down the receiver depth chart, nothing is for certain.
Then again, what is ever certain about a football team in the month of June?
