2015 NFL Draft Scouting Report - Jamison Crowder, WR Duke

Since arriving at Duke, Jamison Crowder has been one of the most productive wide receivers in college football. Crowder has been a big part of the Blue Devils passing attack since he was a true freshman, which has helped propel the program to some of the most successful seasons in its history. He played in the first game of his freshman season and has not missed a game during his entire career.

Duke has moved Crowder all over their offense, playing on the outside formations as well as in the slot to find ways to put the ball in his hands. From attacking down the field to end arounds, screens and just about everything in between, Crowder has a ton of experience in different ways to contribute to an offense. He has also been a weapon on special teams as a game changing punt returner.

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Vitals & Build

Born June 17th, 1993 (Will be 21 at the time of the NFL Draft, turn 22 before training camp)
5’9″ 175lbs (Listed)

Crowder is a small receiver with a compact, strong build. He has excellent acceleration and top end speed, but his agility, fluidity and body control might be even better. There will be questions about whether or not he is maxed out physically, but he outside of just maximizing what he has, he does not need to add anything. Crowder is ready right out of the box and has shown remarkable toughness in his career.

Route Running & Technique

Crowder is a good technical receiver for the most part, but will have some occasional lapses. Usually, he has a good stance with his weight going forward, so he can accelerate well and be explosive from the snap.

In some situations, Crowder stands basically straight up, preventing him from getting a good release off the ball. Instead of firing forward, he will take a hop step into his route. Perhaps by design, it seems more of a case of being fatigued and doing his best to keep going. The issue here is that when he does it, he is tipping the play in that it is going elsewhere.

In terms of route running, Crowder’s footwork and body control are excellent. He can sink his hips and either stop quickly or make excellent cuts to create separation from opponents. Crowder not only possesses the physical tools to be a good route runner but demonstrates some savvy, able to leave opponents guessing on what he hopes to do.

What makes Crowder such a dangerous opponent is that when opponents play off of him, he can kill them underneath because he can stop and sit in space so quickly in addition to the fact he can eat up cushion quickly and force them to flip their hips. When they play up on him and are unable to get a clean jam, he can beat them deep with his speed or he can get them concerned about playing the deep pass, stop and let them fly up the field.

Crowder’s feet and body control allow him to stop almost on a dime to get separation and make this catch. He is able to make a man miss and create a few more yards before getting knocked out of bounds.

Despite being grabbed midway through his route, Crowder effectively uses hid body to box out the opponent when he goes up and catches the football.

The one concern when it comes to route running for Crowder is beating the jam. He makes it difficult for opponents to get a good jam on him at the line and is able to release into his routes without too much trouble, using a number of different techniques from creative use of his feet to his hands to using a dip move and leaning into the defensive back until he gets behind him and can effectively stack. However, there are still times when Crowder will get knocked off of his route substantially, which can render him useless on a given play.

Defensive back gets a decent jam and forces Crowder to take a long way around in his route.

Crowder shows a good amount of ability as a route runner and his experience at Duke has afforded him the opportunity to run a varied route tree. With more work in the NFL, he should only get better which will be important for the defensive backs that are able to mirror him and have a length advantage on him.

Hands

Crowder has shown to be a fairly reliable pass catcher during his career. He has soft hands with the ability to snatch the football out of the air. There are some situations where he will allow the ball into his body, though they tend to be when he is anticipating taking contact from a defender. Occasionally, the ball will hit the ground, but these come off as a surprise when they occur.

Crowder has shown he is able to reach out and catch the football, demonstrating a wide catch radius for someone his size. One of the concerns that comes with a small receiver is their overall lack of length. Crowder is not getting any taller but he does a great deal to try to maximize what he does have and play bigger than his size.

Crowder really does a nice job extending to snatch the ball out of the air while using his body to box out the defender, making it impossible for him to make a play.

Again, uses his body to shield opponent out while extending his arms to snag the football. Unfortunately, this one was out of bounds.

Crowder does an excellent job of tracking the ball, especially down the field. Not only is he able to concentrate on the ball in the air, he can do it with bodies around him.

Crowder does a great job working near the sideline to create enough space to make a play and get his feet in bounds.

The other habit that Crowder has developed is his ability to high point. Crowder’s timing with his jumps is key to his success as he does a great of beating defenders up in the air so he can establish position and make it so they have to jump through him to get to the ball. As a result, Crowder is able to either catch the football or the defender has to commit a penalty to make a play on the football.

Crowder’s experience really shows in his ability to catch the football. He not only seems able to catch the ball reliably but has a good sense of how position himself to be successful in that area. One could quibble with some of the body catches he makes, but he will reach out and catch the ball away from his body and the drops are rare.

Run After Catch

Crowder is excellent when it comes to making the catch and transitioning to being a runner. His experience catching passes on swings and screens have prepared him making a smooth transition and potentially making an opponent miss immediately.

This has translated to his ability to make the same type of adjustment when it comes to catching the ball down the field, both in catching passes while he is going down the field as well as turning his shoulders back to the line of scrimmage and making a move quickly after catching the football.

Crowder catches the ball and reacts quickly, able to make a defender miss badly and pick up the first down on the hot route.

As a pure runner, Crowder is electric, has good vision and reads blocks well. He is someone who can be a threat to score in the open field, but at the very least can maximize short passing plays or extend bigger ones.

Blocking

Crowder is a high effort blocker that does not always get great results. He does his best to make an impact and will work through the whistle. From good positioning and angles for the most part along with simply working hard to get the job done, he has had success.

Crowder sells his release initially, then settles into the block and stays with it, enabling the back to pick up the first down.

Crowder has shown he is not afraid to cut opponents to get them on the ground as well. There are some inconsistencies at times where he is unable to stay on blocks through the play and loses them, but it is not for lack of effort.

Special Teams
Crowder has a ton of experience returning punts Blue Devils. With his agility, speed, and vision, he can be flip the field and has shown he is a threat to score, returning three punts for touchdowns between his junior and senior year.

System Fit

Crowder’s first chance to make an impact for an NFL team may be on special teams as a punt returner. Beyond that, he has shown he can contribute both on the outside of the formation as a receiver as well as in the slot.

From an overall offensive standpoint, Crowder would be well suited to be put into an offense that has the ability to throw the ball deep as well as a team that is willing to give the ball to athletes in space. His hands seem to be climate resistant, though his athleticism would argue he is suited to play in better weather.

Draft Projection

Jamison Crowder’s size is inevitably going to be held against him, but he is a well rounded prospect that can help in a lot of ways for a team. He is an early Day Three prospect that should go quickly on the last day of the draft.

The clips were provided by Draftbreakdown.com

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2015 NFL Draft Scouting Report – Jamison Crowder, WR Duke

By Peter Smith | Dec 4, 2014