Early Wednesday morning, we learned that Michael Crabtree finally ended his lengthy holdout and agreed to terms with the San Francisco 49ers. Let's hope this announcement didn't send fantasy football owners rushing to their waiver wires -- except in dynasty leagues, where he was probably already owned anyway -- because he's not a great option for the time being. It's true, the Niners could use an injection of life into their aerial attack from the outside. Shaun Hill has only thrown for 700 yards through four games, 378 of which have been to tight ends or running backs. Thus, Crabtree will be of great value to their team ... eventually.
There are some incredibly important mitigating factors to keep in mind.
1. The Niners are a run-and-defense team. They have won three of their four games -- and you could easily argue they should have won all four -- with this method. There's no reason to change a game plan that is working because your first-round pick decided to sign his contract a quarter into the season.
2. Crabtree likely isn't in as good of shape as he should be, and he's most certainly not in game shape. He's never seen any NFL action, not even preseason action -- when some rookies shine before being brought back to Earth in the regular season. And he probably still has to learn the playbook, on the fly for a playoff-caliber team, no less.
3. He has no rapport with Hill, which is very important -- especially in the NFL. Isaac Bruce and Josh Morgan, while definitely not lighting up the scoreboard, do. Crabtree will have to jump over both of them on the depth chart.
4. He hasn't played in a game since the Cotton Bowl on January 2. That's a long time since stepping onto a football field ... and, with apologies to Ole Miss, he wasn't exactly playing NFL-caliber competition that day.
If Crabtree can work himself back into shape, develop a rapport, and show rapid ascent into an NFL-level receiver, he might became fantasy football relevant in six weeks. That's a lot of "ifs," isn't it? Leave him on the waiver wire for now and let some poor other sap waste a roster spot on him for the next few weeks -- until they drop him.
