The San Francisco 49ers are getting hammered by NFL personnel execs for the way they're handling the (non)signing of Texas Tech Wide Receiver Michael Crabtree (who I interviewed at the 2009 NFL Draft above). According to Yahoo Sports' Charles Robinson, who asked if the NFL should consider an additional draft choice for an unsigned player, the people he talked to said "no."
“If you can’t find a way to sign a draft choice, it puts you in some bad company,” the aforementioned NFC executive said. “Somewhere along the way, you really [messed] up.”
What if Crabtree enters the 2010 NFL Draft?
While some NFL analysts like ESPN's Mel Kiper think Crabtree would be one of the first 10 or 12 picks, in my view it seems unlikely he would go in the first round next year.
Why?
It would be a way of punishing him for not signing with the 49ers in 2009. The NFL looks down on rookies who think they can bully the league into paying them what they want instead of what the NFL market dictates.
Moreover, Crabtree may have been selected number 10, and yes, we all believed he was better than the Raiders' Darius Haywood Bey, who was selected as the 7th pick (as we said here)...
..But Crabtree's losing even more money by waiting. He might as well take what the 49ers offer, because next year he's going to see even less money.
